TAIPEI — Taiwan will extend the trial period of visa-free privileges to the Philippines and two other Southeast Asian countries, state-run Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Wednesday.
The visa-free program for the Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar will be extended until July 31, 2019, according to Chang Ching-Sen.
Filipinos will still be allowed to stay in Taiwan for a maximum of 14 days, while Thailand and Brunei will now be granted only 14 days from 30 days at the start of the program.
Taiwan, the Philippines’ closest neighbor, began its visa-free trial program for Filipinos in November last year. The trial period was supposed to end on July 31 this year.
Because of the program, the number of Filipinos going to Taiwan increased from 172,475 in 2016 to 290,784 last year, according to the CNA citing statistics from Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau.