For the main hotel, do we know whether the cost will be significantly different from what we normally spend on IETF hotels?
I am assuming that VISA information will be provided on the IETF web site, and that we will need a letter of invitation which the IETF will provide. For non-US citizens living in the US, do we apply to the Chinese consulate in the US, and get the non-US rate? I am assuming that people with dual citizenship can use whichever passport results in the lowest fee (independent of whether they used the same one last time they went to China). thanks, Ross -----Original Message----- From: ietf-boun...@ietf.org [mailto:ietf-boun...@ietf.org] On Behalf Of Ole Jacobsen Sent: 21 September 2009 13:10 To: Eric Burger Cc: IETF-Discussion list Subject: Visas and Costs Just a couple of comments regarding cost and visas, speaking from personal experience. Cost: Once you wander out of the main, relatively expensive, International hotel (any of the major chains), food is VERY cheap by US standards, as are things like a bottle of beer in the local grocery store (less than a dollar). You can ride anywhere on the metro for 2 Yuan which is equivalent to 29 US cents. Taxis are also very inexpensive by US standards, actually by any standard. Visa: If you are a US citizen, the visa fee is $130 here in the US. For non-US citizens, the fee is only $30 :-) However, be very careful about visa validity. As a Norwegian citizen, I can (in San Francisco) only get a visa that is valid for 3 months, single entry, but the clock starts on the day it is ISSUED, not, as one might expect, when you arrive in China in spite of the fact that the form asks when you will be arriving. The visa has an expiration date which basically says "must not arrive after xxx". I made the mistake of applying too early, but the consulate here was gracious enough to cancel the visa and give me my fee back. (They did this by carefully removing the full-page visa sticker from my passport WITHOUT destroying the page in the process, quite impressive actually). [You do need a full blank page in your passport for the sticker]. Depending on where you are from and where you apply, multi-entry visas for a year or even more may be available. Express service (1-2 days) may also be available for a fee, but in June in San Francisco, this was NOT available and the process took a week. All these are things to watch out for especially if you travel a lot since of course the consulate or embassy will hold your passport while processing the visa application. Ole Ole J. Jacobsen Editor and Publisher, The Internet Protocol Journal Cisco Systems Tel: +1 408-527-8972 Mobile: +1 415-370-4628 E-mail: o...@cisco.com URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@ietf.org https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@ietf.org https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf
