Beginning 1 July, Taiwan passport holders traveling to the Philippines for tourism will no longer need to secure a visa, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) announced Friday.
In an advisory, MECO, the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, said Taiwanese tourists may enter the Philippines without a visa for a non-extendible and non-convertible period of 14 days.
They only have to present a passport valid for at least six months beyond their contemplated period of stay, confirmed hotel bookings, proof of financial capacity and a return or onward ticket to the next country of destination.
The move came after the self-ruling island-nation extended its visa-free entry to Taiwan for Philippine passport holders for another year.
For its part, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) welcomed the Philippine government’s decision to allow visa-free entry of its citizens to the country.
“Improving the convenience of Taiwanese nationals traveling overseas for business or tourism and promoting interactions and exchanges between Taiwan and friendly countries are among the key priorities for MoFA and Taiwan’s overseas missions,” MoFA said in a statement.
“The Philippines will now grant visa-free entry to Taiwanese nationals on the principle of reciprocity, facilitating the deepening of exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines in such domains as the economy, trade, investment and tourism,” it added.
MoFA said the visa-free grant was the fruitful outcome of “years of active coordination and negotiation between both governments and was made possible through the joint efforts of the relevant government departments, the people of Taiwan, and MoFA’s concrete implementation of integrated diplomacy.”
It added that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung “recognizes the Philippine government’s pragmatic promotion of Taiwan-Philippines relations.”