In the words of ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs David Yung-lo Lin, “The adoption of Schengen visa free treatment for citizens of the ROC by the European Union was a major breakthrough that was the fruit of over 30 years of diplomatic work in Europe.” Taiwan first began actively lobbying for visa-free status in 2003, and this formally took effect on January 11, 2011.

“The awarding of visa-free privileges by the EU to Taiwan reflected an overall upgrading of our relations—it has taken our relationship to the next level.” Lin points out that there is a deep foundation of economic and trade relations between the ROC and the EU. Bilateral trade has been stable at about US$48 billion annually, and in 2011 even surpassed US$50 billion. But winning visa-free treatment back in 2011 represented an affirmation by the EU not only of Taiwan’s economic accomplishments, but also of our social and cultural development and the reliability and integrity of our citizens.

ROC passport in hand, travel to Europe is now no more difficult than strolling through an airport and hopping on a plane.

Given the current situation under which Taiwan and the EU do not have formal diplomatic ties, persuading the EU to grant Taiwan visa-free treatment was no easy feat. Lin emphasizes that in addition to a variety of technical problems to overcome (such as protection against forged passports), the major obstacle was getting the agreement of each and every one of the then 27 EU member states. (With the accession of Croatia in 2013, there are now 28 member states.)

In addition to the proactive lobbying efforts made in the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union, a critical impetus came when the UK and Ireland granted visa-free rights to ROC passport holders in March of 2009. The UK conducted an evaluation that lasted more than two years before deciding to grant Taiwan visa-free status, and this process created a model to follow for other countries that were already leaning toward granting similar privileges. In short, that gesture by the UK and Ireland—themselves EU members, though not part of the Schengen Area—was of inestimable value as an example and reference for other EU members, who, on seeing the rapid increase in Taiwanese tourist and business visitors to the British Isles, quickly agreed to accord Taiwan the same treatment.

Thanks to the impetus provided by the EU’s decision, there have been further ripple effects across Europe, with numerous territories—including five nations in the Balkan Peninsula; 26 overseas dependencies of France, the Netherlands, and the UK; and states that are not in the EU but have close ties with it, such as Norway and Sweden—all following the EU’s example. Of the 140 countries that currently offer Taiwan visa-free status, 69 are in or associated with Europe. We are now close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ target of achieving visa-free status with all European countries, and David Lin states that the ministry is currently working very actively to win visa-free privileges from Serbia.

High-ranking officers of the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan, including CEO Freddie Hoeglund (right) and director Daver Lau, have nothing but good things to say about the effect of Taiwan’s visa-free status on bilateral ties.

Naturally, the private sector has been very positive about visa-free travel to Europe.

Freddie Hoeglund, CEO of the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT), which has 820 members, points out that the economic and trade relationship between Taiwan and the EU is very close. Currently, investment in Taiwan from EU countries totals US$33 billion, making the EU the single largest source of foreign investment in Taiwan. While Taiwanese investment in the EU is only about one or two billion US dollars, making for quite an imbalance, Hoeglund notes that the EU has a total population of over 500 million people in a single market, offering enormous potential. Besides setting their sights on mainland China and Southeast Asia, Taiwanese businesses would be well advised, he says, to place more emphasis on the EU market.

In fact, the ECCT, aiming to promote bilateral commercial exchanges, began urging the EU to grant visa-free status to Taiwan as early as 2006. Since the privileges were granted in 2011, there has been a major increase in the number of tourists, students, and businesspeople going to Europe. The number of ROC citizens traveling to Europe in 2012 was almost 40% higher than in 2011.

Daver Lau, co-chairman of the Travel and Tourism Committee at the ECCT, remarks that the growth in travel to Europe that followed the visa decision prompted airlines to increase the number of flights between Taiwan and the EU. First KLM (the Netherlands’ flag carrier airline) and Emirates Airlines added direct flights from Taiwan to Europe, and this year Turkish Airlines followed suit. Lau declares that the parallel increase­ in the number of visitors from Taiwan to Europe and in the number of flights between the two sides “is a direct result of the EU giving Schengen visa free status to Taiwan.”

Travel agencies have moved quickly to capitalize on Taiwan’s visa-free status by organizing all kinds of new tour packages to European countries. The picture shows Siena Cathedral in Italy.

Yu Meng-ju, head of sales at ExPlus Corporation, which designs and manufactures electronic circuits, is a typical beneficiary of the program. While the Western European market is mature, and competition there is very intense, there are big opportunities in Russia, and Eastern Europe, which are two of the three high-growth markets that ExPlus decided back in 2010 to target (the third being Southeast Asia). Yu has therefore spent a lot of time the past few years at trade fairs and negotiating business deals in the Czech Republic, Poland, and other Eastern European countries.

Yu says that the most important things in business negotiations are efficiency and flexibility, so if there are delays caused by applying for visas, the entire process can be adversely affected. Now that there is no need for a stamp in your passport to go to Europe, she concludes, it really takes a big variable out of the scheduling equation.

Travel agents and tour operators are also huge beneficiaries of visa-free status, and have seized the opportunity to ramp up business and offer new packages. Lu Yue-ning, who heads up the marketing department at ezTravel.com, notes that since Taiwan got visa-free status, there has been a steady growth of about 5% annually in the number of ROC tourists going to Europe. Lu says that the EU’s visa decision eliminated the three to five day wait formerly involved when applying for an EU visa. Moreover, tour operators are no longer faced with the demoralizing task of telling a customer, filled with joyous anticipation about their European vacation, that their visa didn’t come through.

Phoenix Lin, founder of the website www.eurotravel.tw, says that solo travelers—who don’t have tour agencies taking care of visas and arranging itineraries—will benefit even more. Lin first went to Europe in 1992 and fell in love with the rich culture and humanistic atmosphere; he has since visited 21 European countries. In 2000, he created his forum to share his personal experiences, then went on to set up a blog, a Facebook page and fan group, and other platforms.

With visa-free access to the whole EU, people from Taiwan are now more willing to visit the less-frequented smaller countries of Europe, turning formerly unpopular regions like the Balkans into new tourist hotspots. Lin notes that some countries lack ROC representative offices and are unfamiliar with Taiwan, so travelers from Taiwan formerly had a hard time applying for visas. In 2006, for instance, in order to visit Croatia, Lin had to first mail his passport to a friend in Austria who then applied for a visa on his behalf, and then had to get another friend to provide proof of a place to stay and serve as a kind of guarantor. Only after half a month of communication back and forth did his visa come through.

EU visa-free status has also helped drive growth in educational and social exchanges between Taiwan and Europe. Foreign affairs minister David Lin says that ultimately Taiwan hopes to sign an Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) and a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) with the EU. There is, however, still a lot of work to be done before those things can happen. Until then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has adopted a strategy of promoting the advancement of relations in a gradual and phased manner.

Zhang Ming-zhong, director-general of MOFA’s Department of European Affairs, says that the goal for the next phase is to lobby at two levels—the European Union itself and individual member state governments—to get Taiwan onto the list of countries with which the EU will negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Currently the two sides have agreed to start with a BIA, and it is hoped that Taiwan can enter the first round of negotiations with the EU this year.

In the meantime, Taiwan will continue to broaden and deepen exchanges of all kinds with the EU, such as the signing of agreements with eight states (including Germany, the UK, and Ireland) allowing young people from Taiwan to go to these countries for working holidays; and the signing of double taxation agreements with Luxembourg and Austria. In recent years Taiwan has signed nearly 50 official compacts with European nations, covering technology, education, green energy, and many other fields.

Today, as we mark the fourth anniversary of the formal granting of visa-free status by the European Union to ROC citizens, the ongoing development of social, economic, and cultural exchanges testifies to the non-stop progress being made in Taiwan–EU relations. We look forward to even more to come in the future.