On Wednesday, July 12th, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced that nationals of its 11 diplomatic allies within the Caribbean and Latin American will no longer need visas to travel to the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Belize, along with the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, and Nevis are allowed a maximum visa-free stay of up to 30 days in Taiwan. On the other hand, nationals of Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti as well as Paraguay are allowed to stay 90 days without a visa.
In a statement, MOFA said that the new policy demonstrates the closeness between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and its diplomatic allies. “Given the importance of its enduring friendships with these diplomatic partners, and acting upon the principles of mutual benefit and reciprocity, and a further desire to strengthen the development of bilateral relations, Taiwan decided to grant visa-free privileges to these 10 diplomatic allies from July 12, 2017 in the hope that such benefits will lead to an increase in tourism, business, trade and cultural exchanges at multiple levels,” the statement said.
Under the new rules, nationals from the selected countries can enter Taiwan as long as they hold a passport valid for at least six months, a return flight or boat ticket, and have no criminal record. In addition, customs have the right to check whether the visitor has a problematic background.
Over the past year, Prime Minister Right Honorable Dean Barrow has boosted its bilateral relationship with Taiwan, and hopes it continues to strengthen. MOFA also hopes that these new measures will boost tourism, trade, and cultural links with the allies.
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