Taiwanese would soon be eligible for short-stay, single-entry visas to Russia through its new electronic visa issuance program, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.
Russia has included Taiwan in a list of foreign countries from which passport holders are eligible for its unified e-visa program, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director Yang Syin-yi (楊心怡) told a regular news briefing.
Yang did not say exactly when the program would begin.
Its original launch date was set for Friday last week, but it remains in limbo due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a notice on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ consular department Web site said.
The e-visa program was first announced in Taiwan by the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation in October last year, Yang said.
People can contact the commission for details on the program’s launch date and application requirements, he said.
Once the program begins, tourists and businesspeople would be able to apply for a Russian unified e-visa online for US$40, with children under six free of charge, he said.
The e-visas would be valid for 60 days, with their holders allowed to stay for up to 16 days in Russia, Yang said.
The Russian government in 2017 initiated an e-visa project that allowed visitors to enter only specified regions of the country, the Russian News Agency reported on Friday last week.
However, under the new program, visitors would be allowed to travel throughout Russia, the report said.
Taiwan has offered visa-free entry to holders of Russian passports since September 2018, Yang said, adding that the privileges have been extended twice due to the positive effect on tourist arrivals from Russia.
Russian tourists are allowed to enter Taiwan without applying for a visa and stay for up to 21 days, he said.
Russian visitors to Taiwan totaled 14,927 in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 407.55 percent, ministry data showed.
Travel to Russia is permitted at this time, Yang said.
Foreign nationals entering Russia for work need to quarantine for 14 days, while people entering for other purposes do not need to quarantine, but have to present a negative COVID-19 test conducted within three days of their arrival, he said.
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS