6 New Ministry of the Interior Policies for 2017: Abolishing Land Categories, Revising Rental Contracts, National Park Fees, Short-Term Overseas Travel for Conscripts, and Simplified Entry Procedures for Foreigners

Starting from New Year’s Day, the Ministry of the Interior of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China will roll out 6 major new policies or measures affecting people’s rights, including: “Abolishing the Land Category and Grade System,” “Implementing the Mandatory and Prohibited Provisions for Standardized Housing Lease Contracts,” “Fee Management for Public Parking Lots in Yangmingshan National Park,” “Establishing an Online Application System for Short-Term Overseas Travel by Conscripts,” “Simplifying the Online Visa Application Process for Hong Kong and Macau Residents Visiting Taiwan by Cruise Ship,” and “Official Launch of the Cloud-Based Online Application System.”

Among them, the “Abolition of the Land Category and Grade System” handled by the Department of Land Administration of the Ministry of the Interior is expected to eliminate, once abolished, mismatches between the land category on land registration and land value transcripts and the zoning or designated land use, thereby preventing confusion and misuse by the public or agencies and safeguarding people’s rights. The specific implementation details are as follows:

1. From New Year’s Day of ROC year 106, the land category and grade system is abolished; land registration, land value transcripts, and title deeds will no longer display land category and grade data, and land administration offices will stop accepting applications for land category change registration.
2. If the public still needs the original or historical land category and grade data for reference, they may still apply to the land administration office.
3. Implemented from January 1, ROC year 106.

The “Implementation of the Mandatory and Prohibited Provisions for Standardized Housing Lease Contracts” handled by the Department of Land Administration of the Ministry of the Interior is expected to balance the rights and obligations of both parties in residential leasing through the public announcement and promotion of standardized contracts, promote reasonable and fair housing lease contracts, and appropriately guide the healthy development of the rental market. The specific implementation details are as follows:

1. From New Year’s Day of ROC year 106, the Mandatory and Prohibited Provisions for Standardized Housing Lease Contracts take effect; henceforth, landlords who rent out properties as a business must use the new version of the standardized housing lease contract.
2. Implemented from January 1, ROC year 106.

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You may also want to read “New Ministry of the Interior Rental Rules: Mandatory and Prohibited Provisions for Standardized Housing Lease Contracts Take Effect from 2017.”

The “Fee Management for Public Parking Lots in Yangmingshan National Park” handled by the Construction and Planning Agency of the Ministry of the Interior is expected to improve parking lot turnover, encourage the use of public transportation, and apply the user-pays principle through more flexible private-sector operational management, thereby enhancing the recreational quality of the Yangmingshan National Park area. The specific implementation details are as follows:

1. The 12 public parking lots within the jurisdiction of the Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters (including 4 in the Qingtiangang area and 8 in the Xiaoyoukeng area) will be fully outsourced for operation, management, leasing, and fee collection.
2. The operating vendor will install an automatic fee collection system and dispatch personnel on site to handle various mechanical failures, user services, and vehicle guidance during traffic congestion.
3. Implemented from January 1, ROC year 106.

The “Establishment of an Online Application System for Short-Term Overseas Travel by Conscripts” handled by the Conscription Agency of the Ministry of the Interior is expected to allow conscripts who have not yet fulfilled their military service obligation—whether students with deferred conscription or non-students—to apply online at any time within 30 days before departure, without needing to visit a counter in person. As long as no military service control situation is found, the approval review process can be completed, achieving 365-day, 24-hour service, with an estimated benefit of more than 150,000 conscripts per year. The specific implementation details are as follows:

1. In recent years, in response to the transformation of the military service system and the relaxation of conscript travel regulations, the number of departures has risen year by year and the types of cases have diversified. The Ministry of the Interior and conscription units at all local levels have also felt a sharp increase in the workload of handling conscript travel-related operations. Moreover, conscripts have repeatedly had their trips hindered upon arriving at the airport because they were unfamiliar with the legal regulations and did not apply for travel approval in advance.
2. To streamline administration and benefit the public, and to improve the inconvenience of the current system—where, apart from student conscripts with deferred conscription who can apply online for travel approval via the National Immigration Agency website, all others must apply in person at a township office counter—the Ministry of the Interior has planned to establish an “Online Application System for Short-Term Overseas Travel by Conscripts” within the Household Registration and Conscription Information System. Conscripts can apply online at any time, and those verified by the system as having no military service control situation will be approved immediately, achieving 365-day, 24-hour service.
3. This system is scheduled to begin accepting online applications from New Year’s Day of ROC year 106. In the future, it will continue to compile opinions from the public and relevant agencies, aiming to improve administrative efficiency and enhance the quality of public service.
4. Implemented from January 1, ROC year 106.

The “Simplification of the Online Visa Application Process for Hong Kong and Macau Residents Visiting Taiwan by Cruise Ship” handled by the National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior is expected to effectively save manpower for issuing landing visas internally while, externally, raising the satisfaction of cruise passengers and operators and promoting the development of the tourism industry, achieving a win-win policy outcome. The specific implementation details are as follows:

1. To respond favorably to industry demand, the National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior previously, in ROC year 102, not only relaxed the rule to allow mainland Chinese residents visiting Taiwan by cruise ship to apply for 2 entry/exit permits at once, but also relaxed simplified measures such as allowing Hong Kong and Macau residents who apply for an online visa and use it to visit Taiwan to apply for the next online visa immediately after entry.
2. In recent years, the cruise industry has flourished. In addition to seeking international cruise ships to use Taiwan as a home port, related industries in Taiwan have also actively expanded the market for mainland Chinese residents and Hong Kong and Macau residents visiting Taiwan by cruise ship. It is scheduled that, from New Year’s Day of ROC year 106, Hong Kong and Macau residents visiting Taiwan by cruise ship may apply online for 2 online visas at once (2 visas at once, for 2 entry/exit uses).
3. Implemented from January 1, ROC year 106.

The “Official Launch of the Cloud-Based Online Application System” handled by the National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior is expected to, through the introduction of a cloud-based online application mechanism, complete the reengineering of the application processes for foreign workers, overseas persons (including third-category tourism and short-term stays in Taiwan by Hong Kong and Macau residents), foreign and overseas Chinese students, and mainland and Hong Kong/Macau students, simplifying the current operations of receiving, data entry, fee collection, and certificate issuance. This reduces the need for applicants to travel back and forth, speeds up the operational efficiency and certificate issuance time limits of the Immigration Agency’s business units, greatly relieves the manpower pressure on service stations and overseas immigration secretaries, and provides the public with faster and higher-quality online application services. The specific implementation details are as follows:

1. Starting from December of ROC year 104, the National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior successively outsourced the establishment of the following 4 cloud-based online application systems: Online application system for foreign workers: allows online application for 6-month electronic residence certificates and IC-card residence certificates for foreign workers.
2. Online application system for overseas persons: allows online application for third-category tourism single-entry/multiple-entry permits, and short-term stay in Taiwan single-entry/multiple-entry/celebration permits for Hong Kong and Macau residents.
3. Online application system for foreign and overseas Chinese students: allows online application for 6-month electronic residence certificates and IC-card residence certificates for foreign and overseas Chinese students.
4. Online application system for mainland and Hong Kong/Macau students: allows online application for multiple-entry study permits for mainland students and IC-card residence certificates for Hong Kong and Macau students.

The system development and construction work was completed in September of ROC year 105, and the Immigration Agency has, since December of ROC year 105, successively conducted public briefing sessions and trial operations of the systems. Each system will be launched successively from February of ROC year 106.