Re: [102attendees] [103attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation letter

[Behcet Sarikaya <[e-mail]>]

On Tue, Sep 11, 2018 at 11:57 AM Sterne, Jason (Nokia - CA/Ottawa) <
[e-mail]> wrote:

> I had a similar experience for Buenos Aires (although one person at one
> Argentinian consulate finally did verbally say that a conference isn't
> considered "business"). Nobody at the embassy is really motivated to try
> and find a way to confirm that a visa isn't required so they'll just say to
> get one to avoid any risk.  Maybe one is actually needed but personally I
> doubt it.
>
>
My recollection for Buenos Aires in March 2015 was, I did pay some money
and get a visa but right after there was a presidential visit from US to
Argentina and Argentina waived the visa requirement so I  did not need any
visa.

My suggestion is to go there as a tourist and try to get in.
If not successful, just arrange a few days in a Tai resort, possibly in
Phuket :)
There I guarantee, they would not turn you down.

Behcet


> Everyone has their own circumstances, but it is really a shame that we
> (IETF as an organization) can't get a definitive statement from the Thai
> authorities (i.e. in writing that we can all print & bring) that attending
> this conference is not considered as "business" by Thailand.  That would
> save a lot of grief (and same was true for Buenos Aires and will be true
> for many future IETFs).
>
> Jason
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: 102attendees <[e-mail]> On Behalf Of Reshad
> > Rahman (rrahman)
> > Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2018 12:45 PM
> > To: Robert Wilton <rwilton=[e-mail]>; Artyom
> > Gavrichenkov <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
> > Cc: 102attendees <[e-mail]>
> > Subject: Re: [102attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation
> letter
> >
> > I was planning on doing the same (tourist visa waiver)  but then a
> Canadian
> > colleague sent this response from Thai embassy in Canada (FYI).
> >
> > ===================================================
> >
> > Sent: September 6, 2018 10:15 AM
> > Subject: visas
> >
> > for those who travel to Thailand for business purposes, attend
> conferences
> > you will need to apply for a Non-Immigrant visa and send the following
> to the
> > Embassy:
> >
> > - original passport (no copies)
> > - one visa application filled out completely and singed
> >
> > - one photo Canadian passport size and stamped in the back from the store
> > purchased from
> >
> > - either an official letter from your office addressed to the Embassy or
> > invitation letter from Thailand stating that you will attend a meeting
> > conference. the letter must mention your name and nationality
> >
> > - visa fee $100.- in Canadian funds, money order only payable to the
> "Royal
> > Thai Embassy"
> >
> > - a prepaid express post envelop must be included for the return of your
> > passport.
> >
> > On 2018-09-07, 5:18 AM, "102attendees on behalf of Robert Wilton"
> > <[e-mail] on behalf of
> > rwilton=[e-mail]> wrote:
> >
> >     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]
> >     >
> >     > _______________________________________________
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> >
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