Taiwan

Taiwan, US, visa

Taiwan passport holders to enjoy visa-free travel to the US…

… but only those who carry the newer, biometric passports.

US approves Taiwan Visa Waiver Program (China Post)

Taiwan has been officially included in the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP), allowing Taiwanese passport holders to travel to U.S. for stays of up to 90 days without obtaining a visa, the U.S. government announced Tuesday.

Taiwan is the 37th country to join the VWP. The nation is also the seventh country in Asia, following Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand, to be included in the VWP.

counterfeit, fraud, passport, Taiwan, travel

Around 10 Taiwanese Passports Forged Annually

Foreign ministry calls attention to forged Taiwanese passports (Taiwan News)

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs drew attention Thursday to recent cases of foreign nationals attempting to enter Europe on forged Taiwanese passports. Most of the cases involved authentic Taiwanese biometric passports that had either the photograph or the chip containing personal information replaced, said James Lee, director-general of the ministry’s Department of European Affairs.

In the current state of affairs of biometric passports, everything is riding on the integrity of the chip.