Re: [102attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation letter

[Robert Wilton <[e-mail]>]

Hi Artyom,

I presume that Andrew's email is probably this one:
https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/ietf/v_vECz7MtHUiMfu7INCh9VmJSKc

Or, otherwise this query makes it fairly easy to see other likely 
candidate emails:
https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/ietf/?q=Andrew#

Personally I'm not inclined to apply for work visa, it seems a bit 
arduous, so the choice I'm trying to decide between is do I travel on 
the tourist visa-waver, or do I skip this meeting.

FWIW, my current conclusion of this thread (traveling from the UK) is 
that a tourist visa/visa-waver is sufficient, but I would need to be 
careful about what I say when entering, along the lines of what Mehmet 
suggested previously, i.e. attending a technical conference, etc.

I've never been to Thailand before, so may also tack a couple of extra 
days of tourism on the end anyway.

Regards,
Rob


On 06/09/2018 18:58, Artyom Gavrichenkov wrote:
> I have decided it's a good idea to be more explicit regarding this
> piece. Answers inline,
>
>> See the earlier comments by Andrew Sullivan
> ...which no one to date has bothered to give a hyperlink to (though
> Mr. Eckert and me have both kindly asked for that quite a few times).
>
> The best direction on where to look for those comments was: "Andrew
> Sullivan's explanation on the IETF list". Nah. Never knew there's only
> one mailing list in the IETF.
>
>> and John Klensin.
>> Everybody has to make their own decisions about this and get definitive advice specific to their individual circumstances from the relevant embassy/consulate. It’s that simple.
> Sorry, but it is *not* that simple.
>
> Though I'm somewhat younger and definitely less experienced than you,
> I've lived most of my life under a citizenship which pretty much
> doesn't get you a visa waiver in most of the countries out there, and
> I have a different view over this one.
>
> With all due respect to all the countries in the world, for *most* of
> them, it is *not* possible to get a definitive advice from a consulate
> or embassy. Sometimes the [visa] regulations are vague and unclear.
> Sometimes, on the other hand, they are overly strict and the consulate
> is afraid of assigning too much of permissions to you. Sometimes, the
> consulate doesn't know much about those regulations at all and is just
> acting according to their own common sense.
>
> Each time you face it, it's one-on-one. The other side might be too
> strict or too permissive. The more information you have, the more
> definitive facts you're able to bring into play — the more chances you
> have to ask the right questions and convince the other side to settle
> on a decision which is best to you.
>
>>> Is it an overly optimistic idea to bring someone from the host to the thread and ask them for advice?
>> Yes. It’s utterly impractical to expect anyone to provide advice on visa issues which will or won’t apply to everyone going to an IETF meeting.
> Repeating once again: "I'm perfectly aware there are complicated
> scenarios out there which the host may not know how to handle, but the
> case of a EU citizen coming to the proposed international event looks
> rather straightforward and typical for me."
>
> See? I wasn't speaking about "everyone" from the very beginning.
>
> | Töma Gavrichenkov
> | gpg: 2deb 97b1 0a3c 151d b67f 1ee5 00e7 94bc 4d08 9191
> | mailto: [e-mail]
> | fb: ximaera
> | telegram: xima_era
> | skype: xima_era
> | tel. no: [phone]
>
> _______________________________________________
> 102attendees mailing list
> [e-mail]
> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/102attendees