Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: Visas for IETF 103 in Thailand

[Michael Richardson <[e-mail]>]

Deen, Glenn (NBCUniversal) <[e-mail]> wrote:
    Carsten> Yes, it would need to be qualified as “not legal advice”, “subject to
    Carsten> change”, “void where prohibited”, etc.  It would help if it contains
    Carsten> pointers to authoritative information I can look up myself.  And,
    Carsten> ultimately, it is my decision (or that of my organization) how to
    Carsten> handle this information, but the IETF could do most of the legwork
    Carsten> here.  Regularly, as a routine component of venue selection and
    Carsten> preparing for a meeting.

    > Hi Carsten,

    > As Chair of the IAOC let me say that no information is being withheld
    > on Thailand visas.  We are simply reminding everyone to do what you
    > already do when visiting a new country - learn what the entry
    > requirements for your personal situation are, such as reading on the
    > web, asking your travel agent, or consulting a visa service.

Glenn, what Carsten is asking is that we get a list of what the IAOC
found to be *authoritative* information sources.  Yes, we can Google, but
there is a motive for the non-authortative sources (particularly those with
a service to sell) to do better SEO, so they are going to show up earlier,
and there may be language issues that keep us from finding the real site.

I think that we all have experiences where talking to Travel Agents or
company travel people results in more confusion because they simply do not
have the information they need.  We have to tell *them* what the
authoritative information is.

I am surprised that https://www.businesseventsthailand.com is authoritative
as I'd expect to find it at something.go.th...

We aren't asking that you determine for us if we need a VISA, but rather to
help us find authoritative code that we can run ourselves (or point our
travel people at) to make that determination.

    > I personally spent about 20 minutes with google search and some reading
    > to understand how it applies to my own situation.  One thing that
    > caught my eye was in the Questions and Answers on Thai Visa section on
    > the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand website
    > (http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15380-Questions-&-Answers-on-Thai-Visa.html),
    > which stated a financial support requirement for tourists from the US
    > and 41 other countries that don't require a visa for tourist travel up
    > to 30 days, do need to have "adequate finances equivalent to at least
    > 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family".  5,000 Bhat is as of
    > today's exchange rate around $150 US.  In other words - if I visit as a
    > tourist, I need to have at least $150 US in my wallet when entering.
    > That's a something I didn't know until I read about it.

This is useful to know. (How did 10000 Baht become 5000 = 150US?, btw?)
Is a valid credit card "finances equivalent to"?  Or do I really need $150US?
How about 150EU? Or 150CDN?

I'm annoyed by the above page that keeps telling me that the list of 41
countries is at www.mfa.go.th/ which after some puzzling through, I finally
find at:
   http://www.consular.go.th/main/contents/filemanager/VISA/Visa%20on%20Arrival/VOA_%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%89%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%82%2015-03-61.pdf

I saved that PDF file, the filename is in Thai.

--
Michael Richardson <[e-mail]>, Sandelman Software Works
 -= IPv6 IoT consulting =-