Mandarin-Speaking Filipino Migrant Illegally Stayed in Taiwan for More Than 17 Years

On February 13, a 53-year-old Filipino was found by two police officers to be staying illegally in Taiwan for more than 17 years or for 6,160 days.

It was during the day when the two police officers of Taichung City Jian Kang Police Station were on patrol. They spotted an old man wearing a hoodie. The man got suspicious when they observed that he was moving back-and-forth in front of the park of Taichung City. As they observe the mysterious man in a hoodie, they decided that it would be right to check on him and see his identity.

The man was a Filipino speaking fluently in Mandarin and in the local dialect in Taichung City. The Filipino insisted that he was a native in Taiwan. But the police officers still had some doubts. So, he was asked to present any form of document that would support his identification.




The police officers had noticed that he was in possession of a special edition type of EasyCard. The card is a contactless smartcard helpful for transportation payments and for other purposes and was printed with foreign flags and languages. This made the police officer make assumptions that he might be a migrant worker.

The Mandarin-speaking Filipino was put under questioning and later on had admitted that he is an illegal migrant worker. After having his fingerprints used in the country’s system to trace his stay in Taiwan it was found out that he had been in the country for more than 17 years.

The Filipino was referred to the Office of the National Immigration Agency in Taichung City, Taiwan.