The National Immigration Agency announced Friday that it is reducing penalties for visa over-stayers who turn themselves in. The goal of reducing these penalties is to encourage more people in Taiwan illegally to come forward and thereby curb the spread of COVID-19.
The immigration agency decided on this policy after an undocumented Indonesian caregiver was found to have contracted COVID-19.The case brought to light the problem of foreign workers who have overstayed their visas or are unaccounted for altogether. There are believed to be around 48,000 undocumented foreign workers in Taiwan, and there are concerns that they could contract COVID-19 and spread the disease without anyone’s knowledge.
The reduced penalties will take effect April 1 and end June 30. During this period, those who turn themselves in will not be detained or hit with a ban on future entry to Taiwan. However, they will still have to pay a fine of at least NT$2,000 (US$66).