The 2021 e-passport of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, countries around the world have tightened border controls. To prevent holders of Republic of China (Taiwan) passports from being mistaken for citizens of the People’s Republic of China, and to protect their rights and minimize inconvenience during overseas travel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is scheduled to issue a newly designed R.O.C. (Taiwan) e-passport from January 11, 2021. As part of the new passport design, the official English name of “REPUBLIC OF CHINA” encircles the national emblem and the font size of “TAIWAN” is enlarged, making the “Taiwan passport” further identifiable. The interior pages and the security features remain the same (Image 1).

Previous versions of e-passports issued by MOFA (Image 2) and chipless, machine-readable short-term emergency passports issued by R.O.C. overseas missions (Image 3) will remain valid until their expiry dates.