Press Release of the Offshore Control Division of the Executive Yuan's SARS Epidemic Prevention, Control and Relief Committee
As part of the government's efforts to fight the domestic epidemic outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the measures of "Home Quarantine for the Entrants," which were introduced on April 28, have been decided for continued implementation due to the fact that SARS prevention is the government's top consideration. Yet in order to energize the domestic business activities, the Offshore Control Division has also adjusted measures on business travelers coming to Taiwan. The relevant adjusted plans and relaxed control regulations for business visitors were announced on June 6, and come into force today (June 9). For all those meeting the conditions, the responsible persons of their company or their business partners/clients in Taiwan may submit a guarantee letter and apply in accordance with the identity of the entrants to the competent authority (such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Investment Commission [MOEAIC], the Bureau of Consular Affairs [BOCA] under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Bureau of Immigration under the Ministry of the Interior). If approved, the visitor may then enter Taiwan according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities," and be exempt from home quarantine measures.
The Offshore Control Division pointed out that the newly adjusted plans apply to all ROC nationals, foreign passport holders, Hong Kong residents and the Mainland people returning to/entering Taiwan from an "area with recent local transmission of SARS" for business/work purposes. After the responsible persons of their local company or their business partners/clients have submitted a guarantee letter, these visitors may enter Taiwan according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities" and do not need to undergo a 10-day home quarantine. They are, however, still required to take all necessary preventive measures and follow a self-care health management.
The Offshore Control Division declared that at the moment, the adjustment made for providing reasonable room for commercial activities with regard to Taiwanese businesspeoples in the Mainland is only applicable to those Taiwanese businesspeoples and their staff who hold an official permit for investment in the Mainland, as issued by the MOEAIC, and they may return to Taiwan for business/work reasons. For the time being, Taiwanese businesspeoples who do not hold a MOEAIC permit for their investments in the Mainland will not be applicable to flexible quarantine measures, which means that they must still undergo a 10-day home quarantine after entering Taiwan.
For those meeting the conditions, the parent company or employer/business partner in Taiwan needs to submit a guarantee letter and file an application with the MOEAIC. The proxy applicant will collect the original of the approved and stamped guarantee letter, which he should then mail or fax to the hands of the individual concerned at the company in the Mainland. The individual is required to possess the guarantee letter at customs, whereupon he/she may enter according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities" and be exempt from home quarantine measures.
As for Hong Kong residents, their company (employer/business partner) in Taiwan also has to submit a guarantee letter, which will allow the proxy applicant to file an entry application with the Bureau of Immigration. If approved, the Bureau of Immigration will then notify Taiwan's representative office in Hong Kong, the Kung Hwa Travel Service, to issue a boarding permit to the individual in question. Possessing the permit at customs, the individual will be allowed to enter Taiwan according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities" and be exempt from the measures of "Home Quarantine ¡]Type B¡^for the Entrants." The same procedures apply to Macao residents, if they can present a document stating that they have not left Macao during the past ten days immediately preceding entry into Taiwan. Business travelers from Macao may then file an application with Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Macao, which, if approved, will allow them to be exempt from home quarantine measures after entering Taiwan.
For foreign passport holders, their company (employer/business partner) in Taiwan has to submit a guarantee letter, which will allow the proxy applicant to file an entry application with the Bureau of Immigration. If approved, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify the ROC embassy/representative office in charge of processing the application to issue a boarding permit to the applicant. Possessing the permit at customs, the visitor will be allowed to enter Taiwan according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities" and be exempt from the measures of "Home Quarantine¡]Type B¡^for the Entrants."
For businesspeople or professionals from the Mainland, their business partner or inviting organization in Taiwan has to submit a guarantee letter, which will allow the proxy applicant to file an entry application with the Bureau of Immigration. After approval, possessing the Taiwan Entry Permit (issued by the Bureau of Immigration) and a copy of the guarantee letter at customs will allow the Mainland businesspeoples or professionals to enter Taiwan according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities" and to be exempt from the measures of "Home Quarantine (Type B) for the Entrants."
The Offshore Control Division further declared that exemption from "Type B Home Quarantine Measures" has made the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business/Work-Related Activities" automatically effective for foreign passport holders from today (June 9). In the case of Taiwanese businespeoples in the Mainland holding a MOEAIC permit for their investments in the Mainland, who and whose staffs have already returned to Taiwan for business/work reasons, the Taiwan parent company may effect the staff's release from "Type B Home Quarantine" in the following way: the parent company needs to file an application and sign up a guarantee letter pledging proper health management according to the "Guidelines for Entrants to Conduct Business Activities." These documents will be faxed to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which will forward to the Home Quarantine Division (Civil Affairs Department, Ministry of the Interior) the list of individuals now exempt from quarantine.
The adjustment plans described above and all related procedures have already been posted on the Internet. The relevant websites are:
MOEAIC: http://www.moeaic.gov.tw/
MAC: http://www.mac.gov.tw/
The population may visit these websites to retrieve the information they need. Those who have further questions or problems may get in touch with the Mainland Affair Council's Dept. of Legal Affairs, Tel: 0937-060673.
◆Procedures Governing Entry from SARS Transmission Areas for Business Activities with a Letter of Guarantee