Taiwan is now within reach of Filipinos, as Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines has already introduced various options to apply for relevant Visas to greatly ease the requirements and procedures for those Filipinos to visit Taiwan for less than 30 days.
Filipinos now can opt to apply for visa-free certificate or E-Visa, aside from the usual visa sticker stamped in the passports. In October 2016, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through TECO in the Philippines has opened the E-visa procedures for those Filipinos who are not able to physically appear for application. The processing can be done online through accessing the https://visawebapp.boca.gov.tw and apply under the E-Visa Application tab. Applicants only have to fill out the online form, with no need for supporting documents. The fee which cost NTD 1, 632 is payable through credit card and successful applicants will be granted a single entry visa with maximum stay of 30 days.
Further, in the same year, TECO has also revised its visa-free policy for those Filipinos who hold visa or resident card from countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, any of the European Schengen-member countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They are still eligible to apply online for the ROC (Taiwan) Travel Authorization Certificate even if the visa or resident card has expired for less than 10 years prior to the date of arrival in Taiwan. This policy allows them to have multiple entries to Taiwan for a maximum of 30 days, valid for 90 days and free of charge.
These visa measures are expected to boost the tourism exchanges and travel convenience between Taiwan and the Philippines. Since Taiwan President Dr. Tsai Ing-wen was elected into the presidency; she staunchly implemented Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy”, giving more importance and opportunities to the relations of Taiwan to its Southern neighboring countries, including the Philippines. The introduction of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy” emphasizes the trade and investment, academic and people-to-people bilateral relations of Taiwan and the Philippines.
Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, Representative of ROC (Taiwan) to the Philippines, is hoping that Filipinos will maximize these relaxed visa policies and encourage them to visit Taiwan as often as possible. Taiwan, which is only less than 2-hours flight from Manila, can offer varieties of activities to Filipinos, from tourist and cultural attractions, shopping, food and even for further studies and business engagements. “Taiwan is poising itself as the one of the best new destinations in Asia; the flights, local accommodation and food are cheaper as compared to other Asian destinations, Taiwan is even more than ready to welcome more Filipino visitors”, as emphasized by Dr. Lin.
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