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

["Reshad Rahman (rrahman)" <[e-mail]>]

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.
    >
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