MANILA, Philippines – For those planning a visit to the “Heart of Asia” soon, you won’t have to fret about requirements as Taiwan continues to welcome Filipinos visa-free until July 2025.

On June 4, Taiwan announced another one-year extension of its visa-free entry program only for nationals of the Philippines, Thailand, and Brunei from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.

Just as before, Philippine passport holders may enter visa-free for up to 14 days, so long as they can present proof of accommodations, contact details of host or sponsor, and sufficient travel funds.

This is the second time that Taiwan has extended the visa-free period since it first reopened its borders to Filipinos in September 2022.

Taiwan is geographically the closest to the Philippines, and that has reflected in the strong tourism ties between the two as well. Taiwan’s latest pre-pandemic travel statistics shows that the Philippines was its second biggest source of arrivals in Southeast Asia, with 454,575 Philippine visitors entering from January to November 2019.

Taiwan is still far from restoring its tourism industry to its pre-pandemic levels, drawing only 309,376 Philippine visitors in the same period in 2023. More broadly, it only welcomed 5.67 million visitor arrivals from January to November 2023, compared to the more than 10.72 million that visited in the same period in 2019.

But that could improve as Taiwan worked on further easing inbound travel requirements. Besides the visa-free extension for select Southeast Asian nationals, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also said that it was extending its “project for simplifying visa regulations for high-end group tourists from Southeast Asian countries” for another year until December 31, 2025.

Taiwan is also keeping in place its conditional visa-free entry for Southeast Asian nationals that apply online for a Travel Authorization Certificate.

“MOFA will continue to review and fine-tune visa policies, with a view to strengthening bilateral exchanges and attracting more visitors while ensuring border and public security,” the ministry said in a statement on June 4. – Rappler.com

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