Vietnamese tourists who hold South Korean and Japanese advanced visas will not be accepted when applying for e-visas to enter Taiwan.
As local media reports, starting from September 14, South Korean and Japanese tourists with advanced visas are no longer eligible to apply for e-visas to enter Taiwan, while those with previously accepted visas can continue using them until they expire, VisaGuide.World reports.
Whereas those who have valid visas to the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea or hold a valid visa or residence card from any of these countries can still apply for a visa online to Taiwan.
Under previous regulations, successful applicants were granted multiple-entry visas that remained valid for three months, allowing individual stays of up to 30 days each.
Now, according to the updated regulations, Japanese and South Korean visa holders must follow the standard Taiwanese visa application procedure, which usually takes eight days for approval.
This is not the first time Taiwan has implemented stricter visa measures for Vietnamese tourists. In 2019, Taiwanese authorities temporarily suspended the issuance of e-visas to Vietnamese tour groups participating in the special program.
This decision was taken in response to the case when authorities arrested 17 of 152 Vietnamese tourists suspected of having fled to the territory for investigation.
On December 28 last year, the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei asked the Taiwanese authorities to prioritize the safety and personal dignity of the detained persons humanely and handle the matter satisfactorily following the law while the investigation and treatment process was ongoing.
Thus, the Taiwanese side announced that it would suspend the issuance of online visas for tourist groups within the “Kuan Hung Pilot Project”. This e-visa program is designed to increase the number of high-quality tour groups from ASEAN member states, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, as well as India.
In recent years, Vietnam has emerged as one of the largest contributing markets for Taiwan’s tourism industry. In 2019, the year before the outbreak of COVID-19, Taiwan welcomed more than 777,000 Vietnamese tourists, marking a significant year-on-year increase of 26.5 percent.
As of September 2023, the Taiwanese passport is ranked 69th worldwide according to the VisaGuide Passport Index. This ranking means that Taiwanese citizens enjoy visa-free access to 109 countries around the world. However, to enter the remaining countries, Taiwanese passport holders must go through the visa application process in advance.