Renew a US passport in Kaohsiung 2019 possible to pick up?

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Hello everyone,

I’m curious to know if anyone has any experience with renewing a US passport in Taiwan in 2019 or recently, preferably at the AIT Kaohsiung branch?

According to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) website, the passport gets delivered by courier with cash on delivery for the courier service.

This step concerns me a bit since I don’t speak Chinese, and I’ll be temporarily staying at a vacation rental for several months. Does the courier call you when the delivery is ready or is there any tracking? If there is, that would certainly make me feel better about it.

It’d be great if AIT had an option to pick it up, but that doesn’t look possible.

Any advice or experience with the pick-up or delivery process is much appreciated!

Cheers

2

You can pick it up. Tell the staff that you’ll be traveling and won’t know your location.

3

An example from few years ago in Taipei.

4

Hey, thank you! Do you know if the process is rather smooth in Kaohsiung?

5

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be any different than picking it up at any other US embassy. I’ve had about 4 passports that I had to renew outside of the US (once in Taipei, once in HCMC) and everytime I say that I’d rather pick it up, they didn’t put up a fuss.

6

Thank you for your reply! I did see that post, and it made me think that perhaps it’s better to renew it in Taipei. One thing I noticed is the difference in the earliest appointment times between Taipei and Kaohsiung.

In Taipei, it’s possible to schedule an appointment within 2 days to pick it up, and in Kaohsiung, the earliest possible appointment is 7-8 days later. Staying in Taipei for a month to get it done might not be such a bad idea :slight_smile:

7

That’s helpful information. Thank you for sharing! You have a lot more experience with the process than me.

8

No problem, glad to be of some assistance. Best of luck. If you had to get stranded anywhere, Taiwan would be a good place, imo.

9

Haha, we’re definitely on the same page there! Renewing in Taiwan looks like my best option to squeeze the remaining time out of my current passport. Funny you mentioned HCMC because that’s where I plan to go back to next and where I originally planned to renew it. At this point, I don’t see a reason to do it early in HCMC since renewing in Taiwan is an option. I’m focused on work at the moment and wanting to avoid the bothersome renewal process.

1 Like
10

I recommend getting it done in Taiwan as opposed to HCMC. They’ve really ramped up their security there and it’s just more of a bother. Not to mention the traffic. Christ, the traffic.

11

You’re a lifesaver, seriously, this was the exact advice I needed to hear. Yeah, I like to avoid doing anything that requires much transit in HCMC and anything that involves bureaucracy lol. I love the city overall, but it’s certainly not for everyone.