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In reaction to the increasingly frequent travel across the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of the Interior amended certain regulations to further relax immigration controls for Mainland Chinese in December 2008, and in June and August 2009. The Legislative Yuan did not ratify those amendments until recently, with few recommendations of further revisions. We summarize the important changes that passed the review of the Legislative Yuan as follows:
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Amendments to Regulations Governing the Approval of Professionals of the Mainland Area Visiting Taiwan for Purposes of Engaging in Professional Activities
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A qualified PRC resident may apply for an academic visa for a maximum stay 6 months in Taiwan. Subject to further application and review by the education administration authorities, an extension for another 6 months may be granted.
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Upon filing of an application for the establishment of a company or an representative office in Taiwan by a Mainland Chinese resident, legal entity, partnership, or an entity in other form, directly or indirectly, the board of directors, supervisor, person in charge, manager or technician of such Taiwanese entity or representative office who is a resident of the Mainland area (Mainland Professional) may apply for a business visa for a maximum stay of 1 year. A Mainland Professional may apply for visas for his or her spouse and children with the same length of stay. A multiple-entry visa is available subject to additional application and approval. The restriction that Mainland-area residents entering the Taiwan area must not desert the tour group is not applicable to a Mainland Professional, his or her spouse and children who have the appropriate visas.
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Moreover, a Mainland-area resident who has acquired real estate in Taiwan may be permitted to make multiple entries into Taiwan, for a cumulative maximum stay of 4 month per (calendar) year.
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In addition, the processing time for the issuance of a visa to a Mainland-area resident is now down to 14 days, while for an urgent case a visa can be issued in as little as 5 working days.
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Amendments to Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into Taiwan Area
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In view of the direct flights between cities of the Mainland and Taiwan areas, it is no longer a must for Mainland-area residents routing through Hong Kong or Macau to collect his or her Taiwan visa. The original visa issuance procedure has been revised accordingly.
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Furthermore, the Boarder Affair Corps of the National Immigration Agency will no longer detain the travel documents of the Mainland-area residents entering the Taiwan area.
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Mainland-area residents who are supporting personnel for the direct maritime or air services across the Taiwan Strait pursuant to the Cross-Strait Sea Transport Agreement and the Cross-Strait Air Transport Agreement entered into at the Second Chiang-Chen Talks may now be granted approvals to enter the Taiwan area.
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Lastly, the latest amendments further relaxed the visa issuance regulations and extended the duration of stay for medical treatment, visiting relatives and attending funerals.
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