Taiwanese would soon be eligible for short-stay, single-entry visas to Russia through its new electronic visa issuance program, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.
Russia has included Taiwan in a list of foreign countries from which passport holders are eligible for its unified e-visa program, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director Yang Syin-yi (楊心怡) told a regular news briefing.
Yang did not say exactly when the program would begin.
Its original launch date was set for Friday last week, but it remains in limbo due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a notice on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ consular department Web site said.
The e-visa program was first announced in Taiwan by the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation in October last year, Yang said.
People can contact the commission for details on the program’s launch date and application requirements, he said.
Once the program begins, tourists and businesspeople would be able to apply for a Russian unified e-visa online for US$40, with children under six free of charge, he said.
The e-visas would be valid for 60 days, with their holders allowed to stay for up to 16 days in Russia, Yang said.
The Russian government in 2017 initiated an e-visa project that allowed visitors to enter only specified regions of the country, the Russian News Agency reported on Friday last week.
However, under the new program, visitors would be allowed to travel throughout Russia, the report said.
Taiwan has offered visa-free entry to holders of Russian passports since September 2018, Yang said, adding that the privileges have been extended twice due to the positive effect on tourist arrivals from Russia.
Russian tourists are allowed to enter Taiwan without applying for a visa and stay for up to 21 days, he said.
Russian visitors to Taiwan totaled 14,927 in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 407.55 percent, ministry data showed.
Travel to Russia is permitted at this time, Yang said.
Foreign nationals entering Russia for work need to quarantine for 14 days, while people entering for other purposes do not need to quarantine, but have to present a negative COVID-19 test conducted within three days of their arrival, he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
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