Taiwan’s trial visa-free entry program for nationals from Brunei, Thailand, and the Philippines has been extended by one year, from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has confirmed.
The new changes came during a meeting held between the country’s authorities during which a review of existing visa and entry measures has been made, VisaGuide.World reports.
The meeting had a dual focus, aside from the new announcements, it was also centered around talks related to the Project for Simplifying Visa Regulations for High-end Group Tourists from Southeast Asian Countries as well as conditional visa-free entry through the Online Application for ROC (Taiwan) Travel Authorization Certificate (TAC) scheme for citizens of Southeast Asian states.
“After evaluating the effectiveness of the above convenience measures over the past years and considering the need to revive mutual bilateral exchanges and tourism in the post-pandemic era, participating agencies decided to extend the trial visa-free entry measure for one year for nationals of Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024,” the statement of MOFA reads.
The same notes that the Project for Simplifying Visa Regulations for High-end Group Tourists from Southeast Asian States will continue until December 31, 2024.
The project permits tourists from India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam as well as Cambodia to visit Taiwan by using an electronic visa if they are in a group of five or more persons and travel through an accredited travel agency.
The Ministry stressed that any announcements on the Travel Authorization Certificate scheme will be published on the related website.
Taiwan has reached visa-free travel agreements with several countries worldwide, permitting citizens of those countries to reach this territory without being obliged to undergo a visa application process.
At present, nationals from European Union as well as European Free Trade Association, and the United States, along with those from Japan and Australia are eligible to visit Taiwan visa-free.
However, visa exemptions may not apply to persons that were born in mainland China, Macau, or Hong Kong.
There are two main types of visas when planning to travel to Taiwan: Visitor Visa (for short stays) and resident visa (for long stays).
While the Visitor Visa allows persons to stay in the country for up to 90 days, the Resident Visa gives them the opportunity to remain in Taiwan for longer than 90 days for a specific purpose such as working or studying, thus this kind of visa is divided into specific categories.