How to Apply Taiwan Tourist Visa in the Philippines ~ Updated

*UPDATED: October 1, 2018*

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) recently announced the extension of visa-free privilege for Philippine passport holders which started on a trial basis from November 1, 2017 until July 31, 2018 and is now extended until July 31, 2019 for a short visit not exceeding Fourteen (14 days). Here are the requirements:

1. Philippine passport with validity of at least six (6) months;

2. Return ticket or onward destination ticket;

3. No criminal record in the republic of Taiwan; and

4. Proof of accommodation in Taiwan.

Should you need to stay longer than 14 days in Taiwan, you are still required to secure visa before entering Taiwan.

And that's a wrap! Thank you Taipei. I'm sure gonna miss the warm people, super yummy street food and the pleasantly cold weather. Now back to daily grind.

A photo posted by blissfulguro (@blissfulguro) on Dec 1, 2016 at 1:43am PST

My passport is filled with stamps from visa-free countries except on that of Nepal’s which is technically easy to acquire as they have visa-on-arrival policies. My Sri Lankan visa was also effortless to obtain as we applied online and got it within the day. As with Taiwan, there’s a new visa-free policy to enter the country for Philippine passport holders.

Starting last September 1, 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of China (Taiwan) announced a simplified visa policy for citizens of certain countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and India) including the Philippines which is an extension program that was initiated first in Brunei and Thailand.

The dreaded P1,620-Peso travel tax for Filipinos!

In the new policy, Filipinos who have a valid entry or resident card visa issued by certain countries may apply for visa exemption. Furthermore, if you have entry visa or resident card that has expired less than 10 years prior to the arrival date in Taiwan, you may also apply for visa exemption (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Taipei).

Qualified applicants need to apply for ROC (Taiwan) Travel Authorization Certificate which allows them to have multiple entries for three months with up to 30 days on every stay as long as they have onward/return air ticket and valid Philippine passport.

ROC (Taiwan) Travel Authorization Certificate

To reiterate, here are the conditions and requirements for visa-free entry in Taiwan for Philippine passport holders;

•    Valid Philippine passport (at least 6 months from date of arrival),
•    Onward and return air/ferry ticket,
•    The applicant has never been employed as a blue collar worker in Taiwan, and
•    Documents issued by  Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, any of the Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States; 

1. Valid entry visa (may be electronic visa) or expired entry visa less than 10 years prior to the arrival date in Taiwan OR 
2. Valid resident or permanent resident card or expired resident or permanent card less than 10 years prior to the arrival date in Taiwan.

I have a travel visa for South Korea which I got in November and immediately registered my passport and personal data and in seconds, I received my multiple entry visit visa to Taiwan (take note that the Korean visa number are those numbers on red ink printed below your given name). My friends also applied using their expired Japanese and Schengen visas which all worked fine as well.

South Korean visa = Visa-free entry to Taiwan! :)

Moving on, I had a print-out copy of the Travel Authorization Certificate with me at the check-in counter in Manila as well as a photocopy of my Korean visa. Only the certificate and the return flight ticket were asked on the check-in counter as well as by the immigration officer from the airport.

Arriving in Taipei, I was asked by the immigration officer for the Travel Authorization Certificate and immediately stamped my passport; easy, cost-efficient and hassle-free. Can't wait to share with you my recent trip to Taiwan on my next posts.

Visa-free, hassle-free entry to Taiwan

If you do not possess any entry visa or resident card of the aforementioned countries, you may apply for a tourist or business visa with the following general requirements;

•   Fully accomplished and duly signed visa application form (you can download it here),
•   Two (2) colored passport-size photographs on white background taken withing the last three months,
•   Valid Philippine passport (at least 6 months),
•   Old passport (if applicable),
•   Birth Certificate issued by the National Statistics Office,
•   Marriage Certificate (if married) issued by the National Statistics Office,
•   Supporting documents related to the purpose of visit (roundtrip airline tickets, planned itinerary, hotel booking, Certificate of Employment and Leave of Absence approval from the employer, and financial statements including ITR and recent bank statements),
•   Supporting documents for business purposes (business letter or trading records with Taiwan company, Certificate of Business Name Registration from DTI and SEC registration if you are the owner of the company, invitation letter from a Taiwan company, official letters from relevant authorities for official trip, seminar program if applicable, Certificate of Employment and company ID, and other supporting documents as needed), and
•    Non-refundable visa fee.

Take note of the following:

1. Fill out the application completely and legibly. Supply N/A (not applicable) if you have no data relevant to the question or situation.
2. All original documents should be accompanied with photocopies.
3. You may file your application with complete requirements at Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) from Mondays to Fridays, 8:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. only. Releasing times are on Mondays to Fridays, 1:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. only.
4. TECO reserves the right to ask for additional documentation as deemed necessary.
5. The applicant will be scheduled for interview by TECO if necessary.

Visa Processing Fees:

For three (3) working days processing

Single entry – P2,400

Multiple entry-P4,800

For one (1) working day processing

Single entry-P3,600

Multiple entry-P7,200

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office

41F, Tower 1, RCBC Plaza,

6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City

1200 Philippines

Contact Number: (+63) 2.887.6688

Email Address: phl@mofa.gov.tw

Website: http://www.roc-taiwan.org/ph_en/index.html