In conjunction with the relaxation of border and quarantine restrictions, the NIA announced that automatic extensions will no longer be granted to foreign persons (foreign nationals, people of the Mainland China Area, Hong Kong/Macao residents and nationals without registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area) who entered Taiwan on or before March 21, 2020 and have not overstayed the allowed duration of stay. On October 5, 2022, those aforementioned persons will be granted 30-day automatic extension for the last time, allowing them to depart no later than November 30, 2022.
The NIA explained that, in order to reduce the risk of further COVID-19 outbreak caused by the movement of people, while also considering the need of family reunions, in the past 2 years, the NIA has granted monthly automatic extensions to eligible foreign persons, thus saving them the trouble of traveling to NIA service centers for in-person applications. There were more than 420,000 persons had benefited from this convenient and thoughtful program. Considering the worldwide recovery from the pandemic and in compliance with the CECC’s gradually eased border controls policy, the NIA has decided that the automatic extension policy shall come to an end.
The NIA said that since automatic extensions will no longer be granted, foreign persons who have previously benefited from the automatic extension program shall depart before exceeding their allowed duration of stay. Meanwhile, in order for them to make travel arrangements, a grace period will be given. All foreign persons whose automatic extensions expire on or before November 30, 2022, would not be considered as overstaying as long as they depart by November 30, 2022. However, other foreign persons whose automatic extensions expire on or after December 1, 2022, shall depart before the last day allowed by the automatic extension. To those who are not sure about the date of allowed duration of the stay, they may visit NIA service centers for assistance.
The NIA also maintained that, if a foreign person has been hospitalized for diseases or pregnancy, which may endanger his/her life if going abroad, or has met forces majeure, natural disaster or other inevitable incidents, he/she may still submit relevant documentation and apply for an extension at NIA service centers.
For more information, please refer to NIA’s official website.