Morocco resumes Taiwanese tourism visa applications: MOFA

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) The Taiwan government said Monday it had received confirmation Morocco resumed accepting tourism visa applications from Taiwanese passport holders last week, two months after abruptly suspending the process in July.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)told CNA that a staffer at its office in Tokyo called the Moroccan Embassy in Japan on Friday, and was informed that the embassy had officially resumed accepting applications for Taiwanese travelers' Visa Confirmation Letters (VCLs) beginning Sept. 21.

However, as the Moroccan embassy has still not resumed VCL applications for non-tourism purposes, MOFA said it would not accept visa applications from Moroccan nationals until such restrictions are lifted.

MOFA's statement to CNA came after a local travel agency announced over the weekend that the Moroccan Embassy in Japan had told the agency it was resuming visa applications from Taiwanese nationals.

The Moroccan Embassy in Japan first suspended its VCL review process for Taiwanese travelers on July 23 but did not give a reason for the move.

Citing the principle of reciprocity, MOFA later announced that it would suspend processing visa applications from Moroccan nationals, effective July 31, except for special projects approved by the government.

MOFA said at the time that the Moroccan government's decision had seriously affected two-way exchanges, noting that Taiwanese passport holders can obtain a VCL only through the Moroccan Embassy in Japan and are ineligible for a Moroccan e-visa.