Passport Applications Accepted in Kaohsiung

Citizens in the south of Taiwan applying for passports no longer need to travel to the north of the island to do so. An office of the Department of Consular Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set up in Kaohsiung went into operation on September 15. The office's main duty is handling applications for passports, which in principle may be issued within four working days of receipt.

The Department of Consular Affairs indicates that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has long wanted to set up an office in the south. After the Entrance and Exit Service Bureau set up an office in Kaohsiung nine years ago, the ministry wanted to follow suit but was prevented because of the need for review of the applications by other agencies, so that applicants were still required to travel to the north in person. Now that the requirement for review by other agencies has been lifted, the ministry has been able to set up an office in the south.

The office's formal title is the Kaohsiung Passport Office, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is located on the sixth floor of the Kaohsiung branch of the Commercial Bank of China, Chung Cheng Fourth Road.