Taiwan Resumes Visa Applications for Moroccans
In a significant diplomatic development, Taiwan has announced the resumption of visa applications for Moroccan nationals, marking the end of a suspension that lasted several months. This suspension was initially enacted following Morocco's unexpected halt of visa processing for Taiwanese citizens back in July. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the announcement after receiving formal confirmation that Morocco had restarted its visa application process for Taiwanese nationals on September 21.
The Taiwanese government welcomed this move by the Moroccan authorities and expressed its intention to reciprocate by reinitiating the processing of visa applications for Moroccans. The visa dispute originated when the Moroccan embassy in Japan, which is the primary point of contact for Taiwanese travel agencies, suspended its review of visa confirmation letter (VCL) applications from Taiwanese applicants on July 23, without providing any rationale for this abrupt decision.
In response to this situation, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs invoked the principle of reciprocity, announcing a halt to the processing of visa applications from Moroccan citizens effective July 31. Exceptions were made for individuals involved in special projects that had received prior approval from the Taiwanese government. At that time, the ministry indicated that Morocco's suspension had considerably hampered bilateral exchanges, as Taiwanese passport holders could only obtain VCLs through Moroccan embassies abroad and were ineligible for Moroccan e-visas.
In the latter part of last month, officials from the Taiwanese ministry confirmed that a staff member at the Taiwanese office in Tokyo had verified with the Moroccan embassy in Japan that the processing of VCL applications for Taiwanese travelers resumed on September 21. However, the ministry noted that it was still in the process of confirming whether this resumption included only tourism-related applications or extended to non-tourism purposes as well. Consequently, the processing of visa applications from Moroccan nationals had not yet recommenced at that time.
As reported by taipeitimes.com.
