Qualified Filipinos can travel to Taiwan visa-free
Filipinos looking to go to Taiwan who have either stayed in or have visited select countries are exempt from applying for a visa according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO).
MORE FILIPINOS IN TAIWAN? That may be a possibility with the Taiwanese government easing up on visa requirements for Filipinos. Image grabbed from Taipei Times/EPA
The announcement was posted on their official website last September 27, with the new rules taking effect last September 1.
According to the post, a Philippine passport holder who wishes to visit Taiwan visa-free needs to apply for a Travel Authorization Certificate. To be eligible, the following conditions must be met:
- Applicant’s passport must be valid for at least 6 months from date of arrival in Taiwan
- Have a roundtrip air or ferry ticket
- Has never been employed as a blue-collar worker in Taiwan
- Have at least one of the following documents issued by Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, any members of the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, or the United States:
- Valid resident or permanent resident card
- Valid entry visa (can be electronic)
- Resident card or visa that has expired less than 10 years prior to date of arrival in Taiwan
Visa-free entry in Taiwan under these new rules will valid for 30 days. If you’re planning on studying, working, or staying in Taiwan for more than 30 days, a visa will still be required.
The new visa-free entry rules are also in effect for passport holders from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and India. Previously, only passport holders from Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand were allowed visa-free entry into Taiwan.
Those interested in applying for a Travel Authorization Certificate can visit niaspeedy.immigration.gov.tw/nia_southeast to process their application online.
Source: TECO official website, ABS-CBN News, Inquirer.net
