Taiwan removes Singapore from list of countries for visa-free entry
Vernon Lee
·Senior Editor
Tue, 6 September 2022 at 12:19 pm·2-min read
People at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan. (PHOTO: Reuters)
SINGAPORE — Just a day after Taiwan published a list of countries whose citizens can enter the island without a visa and stay up to 30 days including Singapore, the city-state was removed from the updated list.
The list published by Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs on its website on Monday (5 September) showed that the visa-exempt entry scheme will take effect from 12 September for visitors from countries including Singapore.
A check on the website on Tuesday, however, indicated that Taiwan is “temporarily suspending” visa-free entry for countries including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Brunei, the Philippines, Chile, Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua, and Russia.
Nationals from all Asian countries cannot enter Taiwan without a visa, according to the bureau’s list.
All 14 countries that have full diplomatic ties with Taiwan are eligible under the scheme: Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Vatican City, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu. Their citizens are eligible to stay in Taiwan for up to 30 days or 90 days.
Citizens from a total of 49 countries and territories are eligible under the visa-free entry scheme and can stay up to 90 days, while those from five other countries can stay up to 30 days.
Yahoo News Singapore has contacted the Taiwanese bureau regarding the exclusion of Singapore from the list.
List of countries in Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs' visa-free entry scheme. (SCREENSHOT: Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs' website)
Foreign visitors are required to undergo three days of quarantine and take a PCR test upon arrival in Taiwan, which maintains a cap of 50,000 arrivals per week.
Prior to the pandemic, Taiwan was one of the biggest tourist destinations for visitors from Singapore and other Asian countries.
