June 1, 2017
No.087
The Republic of China (Taiwan) has extended its eVisa scheme as of June 1 to include businesspeople from Iran and the six South Asian nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The new measure facilitates business travel to Taiwan and eliminates the need for such businesspeople to apply for an ROC visa in person at an ROC overseas mission, thus enhancing commercial ties between Taiwan and the aforementioned countries.
To be eligible for an eVisa, businesspeople from these countries must be recommended by a local office of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and approved by the Bureau of Consular Affairs. They are then given an eCode to apply online for an eVisa through a designated website (https://visawebapp.boca.gov.tw/BOCA_MRVWeb/).
The ROC eVisa scheme was launched on January 12, 2016, to boost international trade, and was initially aimed at foreign businesspeople attending international business fairs in Taiwan at the invitation of TAITRA and the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The scheme is now being extended to cover nationals of the aforementioned countries who wish to travel to Taiwan for business purposes, which are no longer limited to participation in international business fairs. This will further strengthen Taiwan’s economic and trade ties with these countries, and help Taiwanese enterprises take advantage of new business opportunities.
The new measure introduced today was approved at an interministerial meeting in April on implementation of the New Southbound Policy that was convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by the BOFT and TAITRA. Nationals of Iran were included in the measure in consideration of the tremendous potential of that emerging market. (E)