Hi all,
I am curious whether anyone knows or has seen any news regarding the visa waiver program for Australian citizens.
Currently Australians may stay in Taiwan for 90 days under the visa waiver program, however this is only a trial until the end of this year (previously the stay was limited to 30 days). [source]
Does anybody know whether this looks set to continue?
Thank you.
Interested in this also, if anyone has heard any news.
Iām only speculating but Taiwanese and Australian political relations have not changed. Further, the president is trying to encourage tourism (and no doubt workers too) from countries other than China, so I canāt see them reducing accessibility of tourist visas for Australians.
The only complication I can see is if Australia takes a tougher line with Taiwanese visiting/working in Australia. However, working holidays in Australia seem to be very common amongst young Taiwanese and are good for Australian taxes and the economy, so I doubt they will reduce that.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I agree that it would seem odd - I canāt imagine much has happened during the trial period that would cause them to revert back.
Probably asking for speculation, but does anyone have any thoughts on whether they will announce future plans in advance, or literally wait until the last day of the trial period before clearing things up?
No knowledge of this situation, but I know the UK-Vietnam visa exemption extension wasnāt confirmed until days before the deadline.
ā¦ Iām aware that given your question, these are two totally unrelated countries, was just in a similar situation earlier in the year!
Thanks, definitely useful to know that this could be the case.
Initially the trial period was 1 year (or 18 months?) - the trial began in 2015. Every 6 months, a couple of weeks before the deadline, they would adjust the trial end date. In December 2016, they adjusted the end date until December 2017.
Iāve tried writing to the Taiwan cultural and economic office in Australia before, but their answer is always āwe donāt know, wait for the Taiwanese website to sayā.
So our only option is to wait until December! Itās pretty annoying and unsettling but I also canāt foresee this arrangement ending. Iām also unsure as to why itās still a trial, since almost every other countryās residents can get the 90 day visa free entryā¦
Its a trial because Australian politicians keep on coming out with racist anti-Asian comments.
I met a lovely couple in a cafe the other day who asked me if thereās a group for Australians to meet socially in Kaohsiung. What I wanted to say was ādidnāt I come here to get away from the average Australian?ā 
I met some Aussies the other day and I swear they subtly mocked my accent [obscure Flight of the Conchords joke].
Thereās now news on this! Seems the arrangement has been extended until the end of 2018ā¦