The nation’s application to participate in the US’ visa-waiver program is entering the final stages, Taiwan’s Deputy Representative to the US Leo Lee (李澄然) said on Thursday.
Lee said Taiwan would likely be listed as a candidate country by the end of this year, but he cautioned that once that happened there was no set timetable on how long it would take to obtain visa-free status.
He said once the list of candidates has been announced, the US Department of Homeland Security could send an inspection team to Taiwan to survey the country’s immigration situation and passport issuance process. Once the department completes its assessment, it then notifies Congress, and once both are satisfied with the arrangements, the US then announces its approval, Lee said.
In the case of South Korea, it only took a month to gain visa-waiver program approval after being announced as a candidate in October 2008, Lee said. Prior to its fast-track entry, the country had signed an anti-terrorism pact with the US in April 2008.
The deputy representative also said that the visa-waiver negotiations between the two countries were not based on any special conditions. If Taiwan were to obtain visa-free status, it would be granted the same conditions as other countries participating in the program, Lee said.
The 36 countries currently participating in the US visa-waiver program are mostly European. The only Asian countries in the program are Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Brunei.
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