Taiwan, SKorea seal e-gate deal, launch services
2018/06/29
A memorandum of understanding on Taiwan-South Korea automatic immigration clearance services was concluded June 27 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, reflecting the commitment of both countries to expanding people-to-people exchanges and tourism industry development.
During the signing ceremony in northern Taiwan, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong said effective immediately, low-risk travelers from Taiwan and South Korea enjoy pre-approved arrival at select ports of entry after registering with Taiwan’s e-Gate system and South Korea’s Smart Entry Service.
South Korea is the first partner country under the Ministry of the Interior’s Trusted Traveler Program, Yeh said, adding that the initiative was implemented after the reciprocal launch Nov. 1, 2017, of streamlined custom clearance services between Taiwan and the U.S.
According to the minister, the pact reaffirms the world-class reputation of Taiwan’s border security controls and e-Gate system. It is expected that this tie-up with South Korea will entice more countries to express interest in and eventually join the MOI program, he said.
Taiwan is a popular destination for South Koreans. Over the past year, the country welcomed 1.05 million arrivals, a number trailing only China, Japan and Hong Kong in that order. During the same period, Taiwan travelers made 890,000 trips to the Northeast Asian country, according to the latest MOI statistics.
The Ministry of the Interior anticipates the streamlined procedure will slash processing and waiting times for qualified South Koreans from 10-25 minutes to three minutes.
This improvement will further boost the TTIA’s global reputation, the MOI said, and strengthen its chances of winning for the second consecutive year the Award for Best Airport Immigration Service assessed as part of the annual World Airport Survey by U.K.-based air travel research group Skytrax.
Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=6&post=136952)
