[Taiwan Immigrants’ Global News Network] A fifth-grade student from the African nation of Chad recently received approval from the National Immigration Agency for overstaying after she successfully left the country through the "Expanded overstayers voluntary departure program." (擴大自行到案專案) The 12-year-old girl has lived in Taiwan for a considerable amount of time after arriving there with her family eight years ago. The parents recently planned to take their daughter back to Chad as the winter break begins and epidemic situation relaxed, but they discovered that they had forgotten to petition for their daughter's extension of residency, which led to the residence permit expiring. The parents worried that if they leave the country, their daughter won't be allowed to return and finish studies because of entry restrictions.
Read more: Overstayers self-report for reduced penalty! Let NIA help you home!
The anxious father turned to the NIA Taipei Brigade (移民署北區事務大隊臺北市專勤隊) and the Taipei Service Center (臺北市服務站) for help. They are both parts of the North District Affairs Brigade of the Immigration Department. He was relieved to learn that the National Immigration Agency was conducting "Expanded overstayers voluntary departure program", which resulted in no detention, exempted from and entry ban, and fine reduced from NT$10,000 to NT$2,000.
National Immigration Agency manages the "Expanded overstayers voluntary departure program" for 5 months, from February 1st to June 30th, 2023, in order to safeguard the fundamental human rights of migrants who have overstayed and help them return home safely. The overstayed migrants in Taiwan were not prevented from leaving the nation in March before being apprehended by law authorities.
This time, the young Chadian girl overstayed her visa by more than a year. During the winter break, she wanted to travel back to Chad to see family and happened to be eligible for the "Extended Overstayers Voluntary Departure Program." Her father accompanied her to complete the necessary steps. The entire family was relieved.
881（ByeBye），提供多國語言服務，歡迎利用專線諮詢自行到案相關訊息。
The National Immigration Agency appeals to the public, asking them to encourage any foreigners they know who have overstayed in Taiwan to take advantage of the situation and come forward as soon as possible. The 0800-024-881 (ByeBye) special free consultation hotline has been established this time. We offer multilingual services, so feel free to call to inquire about the pertinent case details.
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