MECO confident Pinoys’ visa-free entry privilege to Taiwan will continue --- By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan was optimistic that the visa-free entry privilege for Philippine passport holders would continue as the Taiwanese government is set to re-evaluate the program on July 31, 2023. “We were informed that there might be some policy changes pero hanggang ngayon wala pa naman. I am still confident ‘yung ating visa free privilege will not be discarded kasi kailangan nila ang mga Pilipino," MECO Chairperson and Representative Sylvestre Bello III said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City. The Taiwanese government resumed the visa-free entry scheme for Filipino travelers on September 29, 2022 and will last until July 31, 2023. The visa-free privilege covers activities that do not require permits, like visiting relatives, attending social events, tourism, fact-finding missions, and international exchanges. Taiwan included Filipinos in its visa-free policy during a nine-month trial period from November 2017 to July 2018, which has been extended yearly since. “I think we have to thank Taiwan for that because they have a policy that any Filipino who wants to go to Taiwan can stay there only for 15 days and below and go there visa-free,” Bello said. The MECO chairman also said that life in Taiwan was normal despite the ongoing tension with China and the series of military drills in the Taiwan Strait. “Everybody informed me there is nothing to worry about here and everything is normal,” Bello said. “I will take this opportunity to inform everyone that in Taiwan everything is normal, and it is a remote possibility na magkaroon ng emergency situation like, for example, earthquake… prepardo ang Taiwan government not only in protecting their own people but even the Filipinos especially our workers,” he said. The MECO chairman said that Taiwan had 90,000 shelters where people can go in the event of a disaster. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

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