Taiwanese importer welcomes Schengen visa waiver

A Taiwanese importer of European cars has welcomed Taiwan's acceptance into the European Union's Schengen Visa waiver program.

A spokesman for Audi Taiwan said the Schengen Visa waiver will save the company time, money and effort when staff to make business trips to the German head office.

Under the visa waiver program, Taiwanese visitors are now permitted to enter 35 European countries without a visa for stays of up to 90 days within a six-month period.

Audi Taiwan spokesman Chen Pai-chun said the Taiwanese branch applied for 70 Schengen visas last year for staff members, costing NT$170,000 (US$5,666) per year.

While the monetary cost of the visa application process wasn’t prohibitively high, the company is pleased they will be able to reduce paperwork and raise administrative efficiency as a result of the waiver.

According to the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, Taiwanese passport holders made 175,000 applications for Schengen visas in 2010.

The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in Schengen visa and immigration information.