Passport holders from the ROC and Turkey will no longer have to pay visa fees of US$24 and NT$1,600 (US$47), respectively. The move reflects the rising number of local tourists traveling to Turkey following the launch of Taipei-Istanbul direct flights last March.
“Around 50,000 Taiwan tourists visited Turkey in 2015,” a MOFA official said Feb. 2, adding that the figure is projected to reach 80,000 this year. “Elimination of the application fees is expected to reduce total travel costs by NT$70 million.”
The reciprocal privilege marks another step forward in the ROC government’s efforts to create favorable travel conditions between Taiwan and its international partners. A total of 161 countries and territories offer ROC nationals visa-waiver, landing-visa or other visa privileges, according to the MOFA.
A recent example of this progress is the inclusion of Taiwan in the British government’s Registered Traveler Service program, which cleared ROC e-passport holders to use the U.K. / EU entry lane and electronic passport gate at 10 major airports in Britain, as well as Eurostar terminals in Brussels, Lille and Paris.
The MOFA said Taiwan is looking to repeat this success with Japan. The two nations are in talks to streamline entry procedures starting next year through implementing a passport pre-examination procedure. (YHC-JSM)
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