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Many Filipino travelers have come to love Taiwan in recent years. This will likely continue as the Taiwanese government announced yesterday that it has extended its visa-free privilege to Filipinos for another year.
This means that those with Philippine passports can still go to Taiwan sans a visa until July 31, 2020, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines said in a statement. They also don’t need to secure a travel authorization certificate or an E-visa.
This is an extension of the visa-free privilege Taiwan granted Filipinos in November 2017. Filipinos traveling to Taiwan can stay there for 14 days without a visa as long as their passport is still valid for at least six months. They must also book either a return ticket, cruise ship ticket, or ongoing tickets to another destination, and an accommodation booking in Taiwan. They may also be asked for a financial statement.
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Filipinos have been flocking to Taiwan even before they could travel there without a visa. Hotel booking website Agoda reported that in 2016, Taiwan was the top destination for Filipinos traveling abroad. Taiwan has also amped up its tourism campaigns in the Philippines in recent years.
Applying for a visa can get very grueling but Filipinos travelers who don’t want to go through the hassle don’t have many countries to choose from.
In this year’s Global Passport Power Rank by Arton, the Philippines is way down at #63 because its citizens can only enter 35 countries (from those in Arton’s index) without a visa. In comparison, Singapore is at #4, Malaysia is #9, and Hong Kong is at #13.
Correction: This article previously stated that the Philippine passport is ranked #64 when it is actually ranked #63.
