(SPOT.ph) Since November 1, 2017, Filipino travelers have been enjoying visa-free travel to Taiwan. This policy was renewed for 12-month effectivity every year, including the extension from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022. But this did not take precedence over COVID-19 measures and entry regulations in Taiwan, which prohibited international travel at the height of the pandemic. They officially barred entry to all foreign visitors on March 19, 2020, and this has remained in place.
Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs, however, released on September 6 a long list of "designated foreign countries [that] are eligible for the visa exemption entry scheme" starting from September 12—and this did not include the Philippines, which is still under temporary suspension for visa-exempt entry. The date also partially ends Taiwan's strict travel ban.
Visa-free entry is temporarily suspended for nationals from the following countries:
- Chile
- Dominican Republic
- Israel
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Nicaragua
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- Brunei
- Philippines
- Russia
Philippine passport holders who wish to visit Taiwan for tourism purposes can still apply for a visa, as long as they have a passport that's valid for six months, evidence of funds (bank statement), roundtrip tickets, and application forms obtained from the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) website.
"A cap on the total number of arrivals remains in place and inbound passengers are still required to follow current CECC regulations of three days of home quarantine and four days of self-initiated pandemic prevention," a press release by BOCA added.
According to a report by Taiwan News, Central Epidemic Command Centerhead Victor Wang said during a press conference that the second list of visa-free countries will be announced in the future.
Nationals from the following countries are eligible for visa-exempt entry with a duration of stay of up to 90 days:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Marshall Island
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia (effective until March 31, 2025)
- Norway
- Palau
- Paraguay
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tuvalu
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Vatican City State
Nationals from the following countries are eligible for visa-exempt entry with a duration of stay of up to 30 days:
- Belize
- Nauru
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines