MANILA, Philippines — Filipino travellers can enjoy visa-free entry to Taiwan for another year as the east Asian nation has extended the privilege until July 31, 2020.
Filipinos may enter Taiwan and stay for up to 14 days without visa beginning Aug. 1, 2019.
“This privilege is a display of Taiwan’s amity with the Philippines as the country continues to boost the travel convenience for Filipinos to visit Taiwan for leisure, business, or other short-term purposes,” the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office said in a statement Tuesday night.
It added: “The visa-free privilege also aims to deepen Taiwan’s multifaceted relations with the Philippines, particularly in the fields of tourism, trade, investment, education, agriculture, fisheries and healthcare, etc.”
Filipinos who intend to visit Taiwan must comply with the following conditions:
- Possess an ordinary/regular passport with remaining validity of at least six months from the date of entry;
- Hold a confirmed return plane or boat ticket, or a confirmed plane or boat ticket, along with a valid visa, for an onward destination;
- Provide the confirmation of hotel reservations or an address and contact details for their stay in Taiwan, as well as a financial statement;
- Have a clean criminal record, as verified by immigration upon arrival at an airport or seaport in Taiwan.
The duration of the 14-day visa-free is not extendable and begins on the following day of arrival in the island nation.
Taiwan introduced the visa-free program in November 2017 to increase visitors coming from countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
It extended the privilege in 2018. The number of Filipino tourists increased to 419,000 in 2018 from 290,784 in 2017.
At the same time, TECO urged the Philippine government to grant visa-free treatment to Taiwanese “on the basis of reciprocity.”
“It will surely strengthen the bilateral ties and mutually benefit our two countries,” it said.