MOFA warns of buying, selling Taiwan passports after convictions

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday urged Taiwanese not to sell or buy their country's passports, warning that such moves were illegal and could lead to sentences of up to seven years in prison.

MOFA's warning came after the Yilan District Court handed four buyers of Taiwanese passports 14 months to 26 months of prison time in a case decided earlier this month.

According to a Chinese-language Liberty Times report on Monday, the four were charged with selling Taiwanese passports to a Chinese human trafficking ring.

They were first indicted along with other accomplices after local police and investigators cracked down on their allegedly illicit practices in April 2024.

Prosecutors said the Chinese human trafficking ring had over the years asked the accused to buy local passports before selling them to buyers overseas, local reports said.

The ring bought Republic of China (Taiwan) passports for roughly NT$6,000 (US$189) to NT$10,000 a piece and then resold them overseas for about 10,000 euros, according to reports, with prosecutors finding at least 14 such passports sold to buyers in Greece and Indonesia.

Asked to comment, MOFA said it received a request for assistance from the National Police Agency in October 2023 to help with the investigation of the case.

Since then, it has closely monitored passports believed to have been sold overseas, MOFA said.

Taiwan passports have always been in high demand in the black market because its holders can travel to 177 countries/territories visa-free or enjoy preferential visa privileges.

Buying or selling passports to others violates Article 29 of the Passport Act, which stipulates that violators will face a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of up to NT$700,000.