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

[Stewart Bryant <[e-mail]>]

FWIW I always say that I am attending an international technical 
standards meeting.

- Stewart


On 15/08/2018 20:28, Clint Chaplin wrote:
> Instead of " I am attending an IETF meeting at the Fairmont Hotel in 
> Montreal",  I say " I am attending an IETF conference at the Fairmont 
> Hotel in Montreal"
>
> "Meeting" can imply business meeting, which is close to work.  
> "Conference" does not have the same implication.  I once had to spend 
> five minutes explaining to Canada Immigration what kind of "meeting" I 
> was attending.
>
> On Wed, Aug 15, 2018 at 12:19 PM Mikael Abrahamsson <[e-mail] 
> <mailto:[e-mail]>> wrote:
>
>     On Wed, 15 Aug 2018, Bob Hinden wrote:
>
>     > When asked by immigration why I am there I answer something like
>     “I am
>     > attending an IETF meeting at the Fairmont Hotel in Montreal”. 
>     That is
>     > truthful and avoids the work issue.  I haven’t been rejected yet :-)
>
>     Yes, it's best to avoid the word "work" when travelling. You're
>     there to
>     attend a conference, meet vendors or similar. You're there for
>     business..
>     Never "to work".
>
>     For thailand:
>
>     http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/changes-visa-exempt.php
>
>     http://www.thaiembassy.org/helsinki/en/customize/28150-ConferenceBusiness-meetingSeminar.html
>
>     "1.     Foreign nationals wishing to enter the Kingdom of Thailand to
>     attend a MICE event, which is endorsed or sponsored by TCEB,
>     without being
>     employed or working for income, are regarded as tourists"
>
>     Having spent a total of over a year and traveled in and out of
>     thailand a
>     non-trivial amount of time, I'd recommend to make things easier for
>     everybody and just say you're going there for tourism if you're a
>     passport
>     holder from one of those 55 countries. If someone questions that,
>     point to
>     above rule and say you interpreted it as you should say tourism.
>     Apologise
>     profusely for the mix-up.
>
>     -- 
>     Mikael Abrahamsson    email: [e-mail]
>     <mailto:[e-mail]>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Clint Chaplin
> Principal Standards Engineer
> Samsung Research America