ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Taiwan

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen has successfully negotiated a place on the ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) for the 24 million citizens on the island of Taiwan. This short-term ETIAS visa waiver will be launched in 2023 to allow for vetted travel without a visa for citizens of trusted nations like Taiwan.

Taiwanese citizenship once granted individuals the right to short-term travel to the EU with just a visa. However, in light of the growing terrorist threat, and the EU’s desire to protect its citizens from infectious diseases, a valid ETIAS visa waiver is required for travel into the 24 Schengen states. These are listed below.

Taiwanese people who are well-versed in European politics will note these 24 Schengen nations include a selection of EU nations, the four EFTA nations, and the microstates within the Schengen zone.

There are various standard requirements for all ETIAS applicants. Taiwanese people must respect these to have a successful application.

The first requirement is for documentation, which must be valid and officially assigned to the Taiwanese applicant. The documentation required is firstly a valid biometric passport, preferably an e-passport. Possessing an e-passport will speed up the process at the border. The Taiwanese person will also require proof of address and a digital photograph. This photograph must be different from any of the photographs on their documentation.

The second requirement is to properly answer the questions on the application form. These are rigorous, but the ETIAS system only grants applicants 10 minutes to complete. This should not be a problem, as applicants likely to be successful will have no difficulties answering them. For example, there are security questions such as if the Taiwanese person has had a terrorist conviction in the last 25 years. There are all questions to protect European health. For example, applicants will be asked if they carry any infectious diseases.

For most applicants, this standard documentation and answer will be enough. However, in rare cases, extra information will be required to clear up discrepancies.

These discrepancies are often minor, and will not be enough to force administrative staff to reject an application. Instead, they will request further documentation while keeping the application open. The Taiwanese person will have ten days to return the necessary documentation or clarifications. They should send these via email.

However, the EU expects some applications will be unacceptable and will therefore be rejected. It is expected that one in 20 applications will be rejected. However, that does not mean the application is permanently closed. The emailed rejections are to be accompanied by an explanation of the rejection and a request for documentation or clarification. Taiwanese people can expect this will be more extensive than requests for clarification for applications that are not yet rejected. They will have 96 hours to fulfill the requirements given to them, and the decision moves to the destination nation. The Schengen nation will have four weeks to make its decision.

Administrative staff will not always be correct about which documentation is required. At times they will be forced to ask the Taiwanese person to attend a video interview to provide additional clarification. This will often occur if there are concerns that the provided documentation is not possessed by the applicant or has been forged. To have their application accepted, the Taiwanese person must attend the interview, which will be within 72 hours of them being notified.

Having to provide extra documentation, information, or attending interviews is a time-consuming process. In most cases, Taiwanese people can avoid this by making sure they complete their applications properly. The main mistakes in the application process that can prevent rejections or requests for clarification are…

The ETIAS will be granted to you electronically via the email you give the EU in your application. Taiwanese people can check this email to find the expiry date of their ETIAS visa. The Taiwanese person will find it is valid for three years after they apply for ETIAS and they will be able to travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days.