You can still visit Taiwan without a visa until 2021
Taiwan is not just the Land of the Milk Tea as there are many foods you’ll want to try. Not to mention, there are many attractions like temples, museums, and palaces that shows its rich culture and heritage. If you were not able to go there because of COVID-19, there’s still hope for you! You have another year to resume your travel plans since Taiwan is extending visa-free entry until 2021.
There are still travel restrictions due to pandemic
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an announcement last Thursday that trial visa-free entry for Filipinos will begin on August 1, 2020, until July 31, 2021. The extension of visa-free privilege also covers nationals of “New Southbound Policy” partner countries. Aside from the Philippines, this includes Thailand and Brunei as well as Russia.
On the other hand, the foreign affairs ministry emphasized that travel restrictions are still in place due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It states, “The aforementioned adjustments to visa measures for nationals from New Southbound Policy partner countries and Russia are based on previously existing policies and do not take precedence over temporary border control measures put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Based on Taiwan’s Bureau of Consular Affairs statement, they still accept a special entry permit. But they only issue permits for those who have to travel due to essential reasons. They just do not allow leisure intentions like tourism and regular social visits. If you’re planning to apply, you must submit an English-language certificate of negative COVID-19 test. The validity of the test is within three days of boarding the flight. In addition to that, they will require you to undergo home quarantine period for 14 days.
The country introduced the visa-free program in November 2019 to increase visitors coming from countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. As a result, there was an increase of 34.49 percent of visits from Filipinos as tourists.
Will you still push your travel plans to Taiwan after the pandemic?
