Travelers should renew passports before holidayBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterPeople planning to travel abroad during the Lunar New Year should check their passport validity as early as possible, and pick up new passports before Feb. 13, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said yesterday. Holiday travelers should ensure their passport is valid for at least six months beyond their intended date of departure, bureau Director-General Cheng Cheng-yung (鄭正勇) said. He also urged people not to place souvenir stamps in their passport, or otherwise damage or comprise the document’s integrity. Emergency assistance in China, Hong Kong or Macau is handled by the Mainland Affairs Council. Travelers are also encouraged to add the bureau’s official Line account (@boca.tw) or download its Travel Safety Guidance (旅外安全指南) app for useful information such as travel warnings and emergency assistance information, he said.
