Taiwanese passport holders must obtain a UK-issued electronic travel authorization (ETA) document to visit or transit through the UK, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Taiwanese travelers who have enjoyed visa-free visits to the UK since March 2009 need to have the new digitally issued travel document to enter the UK starting from yesterday, the ministry said.
The British government Web site Gov.UK shows that the travel requirement is being introduced in phases, and by April, all visitors who do not need a visa would need an ETA.
Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times
Taiwanese, along with those from several visa-exempt countries, including the US, have been able to apply for an ETA since Nov. 27 last year for trips of up to six months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or short-term study.
Travelers can apply for an ETA through the official “UK ETA” app for Android and iOS devices, or through Gov.UK.
The application costs ￡10 (US$12.35), and usually takes three working days to be processed, but could take longer, the site says.
A person who must depart before their application is approved, can travel to the UK while waiting for a decision, it says.
An ETA is valid for two years, but it does not guarantee entry to the UK, as immigration officers at the border have the final say, it says.
Similar travel requirements have been introduced for Taiwanese travelers to Australia, which requires an Electronic Travel Authority document, and the US, which has the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.
Meanwhile, no date has been announced for the rollout of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for the Schengen Area or Cyprus for a short stay, due to delays in the installation of equipment at some airports in the area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwanese travelers eligible for visa-free visits to the area can still do so, until the ETIAS is officially introduced, it said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
RSS