Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/04
By: Elaine Hou and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Russian passport holders will be able to stay up to 21 days in Taiwan on visa-free entry, with effect from Aug. 1, under a visa-free program that has been extended for another year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday.

The visa-free stay for Russian visitors has been extended from 14 to 21 days, while the program to allow visa-free entry to citizens of the Philippines, Thailand, and Brunei has also been extended for another year, according to Antonio Chen (陳俊賢), head of MOFA's Bureau of Consular Affairs.

The decision was based on a significant growth in visitor arrivals from those four countries since Taiwan included them in its visa-free entry program on a trial basis last year, Chen told reporters.

He said that in the case of Russia, since its citizens were first granted visa-free entry in September 2018, there have been few reports of visa violations by them in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]