Taiwan studying extension of visa-free privilege for Pinoys


June 12, 2019
 

By

Cristina Lee-Pisco
 
People's Tonight

THE final decision on the extension of the visa-free entry for Filipino travellers to Taiwan has yet to be released, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan said.

In a statement, the Taiwan Ministry stressed the Executive Yuan is still deliberating on the conclusion and recommendations of the inter-agency group which conducted an assessment of the program’s effectiveness.
“With regards to the extension of the visa-free program for Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines on a trial basis which is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) together with the Security, Immigration, Police, Investigation, Tourism, Economic and other related government agencies have been undergoing relevant procedures to conduct a full-scale assessment of the program’s effectiveness through joint inter-agency meetings. The conclusions and recommendations from the said meetings have been submitted to the Executive Yuan for deliberation, and the final decision will be announced by the Executive Yuan in due time,” the statement said.
The Filipino Times, a Filipino newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates, released a report on June 9, 2019 stating that the visa-free program for the nationals of the Philippines has been extended for another year.
The article cited Taiwan’s Central News Agency as its main source, which had stated that the program will last until July 31, 2020.
Taiwan first allowed Filipinos to travel to Taiwan without requiring them to secure visa in Nov. 1, 2017.
The visa-free initiative was implemented for 9 months as a trial or until July 31, 2018.
A month before the program expired, Taiwan announced that the visa-free privilege for Filipinos will be extended until July 31, 2019 as a reflection of the government’s goodwill and friendship to the Philippines.

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