The United States now rejects fewer than 3 percent of all visa applications made by ROC nationals, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nov. 4.
A low visa-rejection rate will help Taiwan in its efforts to become a part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, said Bruce Linghu, director-general of MOFA’s Department of North American Affairs.
The latest annual figures released by Washington show that Taiwan’s visa application rejection rate averaged 2.2 percent between October 2009 and September 2010, a 50-percent decrease year on year, MOFA noted.
The ministry added that the reduction indicates that Taiwan citizens prepare their visa applications carefully, obey the law during their stays in the U.S. and do not overstay their visas. In addition, the reduction shows that consular authorities from Taiwan and the U.S. have been successful in exchanging information.
Besides a low visa-rejection rate, other qualifications for being admitted to the VWP include timely reporting of lost and stolen passports, maintaining high standards of counterterrorism, border control and document security, Linghu said.
“On the issue of passport security and identity verification, MOFA and the Ministry of the Interior have been working together to launch a new service next January to encourage citizens to apply for their passports in person,” Linghu said. The service will allow applicants to submit their paperwork at local government offices, he added.
“Meanwhile, the ROC government will continue to cement exchanges with the U.S. on matters of border security and anti-terrorism,” he said.
Linghu also emphasized that becoming a part of the VWP requires collaboration between different ministries and that many more issues will need to be resolved before Taiwan can qualify.
It would thus not be appropriate to set a timetable for admission into the program, he said.
Becoming a part of the VWP would allow ROC nationals to enter and stay in the U.S. for up to 90 days without having to go through the process of applying for a visa. The government of Taiwan has long sought for the nation to be included in the VWP. (HZW)
Write to Elaine Hou at elainehou@mail.gio.gov.tw