Taiwan joins US visa free scheme

TAIPEI, 11 December 2012: Lion Travel Service, a top travel agency in Taiwan, told the China Post, last week, Taiwan’s inclusion in the United States’ Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) has already boosted sales in November and December by two to three times compared with a year earlier.

“When Taiwan was included in the VWP, we originally estimated 50% growth in November and December, but the number has already increased by two to three times,” travel agency spokesman Andy Yu said.

“Right now, demand is outstripping supply,” he said, adding that popular tours include watching the New Year fireworks at Disney California Adventure Park and at New York City’s Times Square.

Many travellers have also booked tours to the US during the Chinese New Year vacation in February 2013, with at least twice as many Taiwanese planning on traveling compared with the year-earlier level, said Yu.

Meanwhile, the company’s assistant president, Liu Ming-jen, said there were plans to introduce more tours in the future, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas tours, as well as tours to see NBA star Jeremy Lin, a Taiwanese who made it to major US league.

Taiwan’s was added to list of the VWP countries 1 November, making it the 37th country to eligible to gain visa free treatment from the US.

Currently, 37 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Programme are:

Andorra; Hungary; New Zealand; Australia; Iceland; Norway; Austria Ireland; Portugal; Belgium; Italy; San Marino; Brunei; Japan; Singapore; Czech Republic; Latvia; Slovakia; Denmark; Liechtenstein; Slovenia; Estonia; Lithuania; South Korea; Finland; Luxembourg; Spain; France Malta; Sweden; Germany; Monaco; Switzerland; Greece; Netherlands Taiwan;United Kingdom.

Singapore and Brunei are the only countries of ASEAN’s 10 country members on the list.

To be on the list, countries have to meet various security and  law enforcement practices that comply with US requirements. There are also economic considerations. Both Singapore and Brunei are wealthy states and their residents are not likely to migrate to the US illegally.

They also have to agree to share security-related data with the United States, which includes timely reporting of both blank and issued lost and stolen passports.

The conditions take away some of the rights and freedoms a nation may treasure such as a sharing data on its citizens without their permission.

Countries that want VWP status need to maintain high counter-terrorism, law enforcement, border control, and document security standards that meet US standards.

Travellers entering the US under the Visa Waiver Programme could be asked to provide evidence of onward travel or other documentation on the purpose of their stay in the United States

Sourced: ttrweekly