*If you (or someone you are sponsoring) require a visa to travel to Thailand, please read this message in its entirety.
PLEASE NOTE:
- ICFP2022 has been designated by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau as a Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) event. This designation allows all of our delegates to travel to Thailand under a Tourist MICE Visa (TR-MICE).
- View the visa overview page here.
- An overview of visa and vaccination requirements* organized by country for travel to Thailand can be found here.
Update on the ICFP2022 Visa Application Pre-Approval Process
If you need a visa to enter Thailand, and you registered for ICFP2022 and uploaded your biometric passport page to the registration site by 15 September 2022, your information was submitted to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MoFA) Department of Consular Affairs (DoCA) through the Ministry of Public Health for a visa application pre-approval process.
Thailand’s DoCA has begun releasing the names of the ICFP2022 delegates who have been approved under this visa application pre-approval process to all Thai embassies and consulates worldwide and informing them of the special handling of these individuals’ visa applications. DoCA has assured the ICFP Secretariat that everyone on the pre-approved list may garner their visa from any Thai consulate or embassy across the globe that is authorized to grant visas to enter Thailand.
Each pre-approved delegate will receive an email from ICFP within 24 hours of official receipt from Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health with details about next steps to finalize their visa application process with the embassy or consulate of their choice. The DoCA has advised the ICFP that the majority of the names submitted to this process will be released to ICFP and all Thai embassies and consulates worldwide by 15 October 2022.
Next Steps for Those Who Have Been Granted Pre-approval from DoCA
Please have all necessary application materials to apply for a tourist (TR) visa completed and ready, in order for you to immediately begin the visa application process, once you have received the email from ICFP alerting you that you have been pre-approved and that you may contact the Thai embassy/consulate of your choice to determine how to submit your visa application materials – i.e., mail-in, email, or in-person submission.
The DoCA has communicated to the ICFP Secretariat that those who receive this pre-approval can expect the customary visa application processing time to be significantly reduced to no more than one week’s time, depending on the volume of applications being received and processed by these embassies and consulates.
Ultimately, the use of alternative methods to submit your visa application, as well as the approval of that application, is at the discretion of each individual embassy or consulate. However, we have been informed that with the increase of new systems being put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in remote interviews and document submission, it is much less likely that pre-approved ICFP delegates will be required to travel to an embassy or consulate.
Next Steps for Those Who Were Not Granted Pre-Approval from DoCA
Those who are not granted pre-approval by the DoCA to garner a visa will also receive an email from ICFP to this effect, which will include a number of options for participation in and presentation at ICFP. Unfortunately, the ICFP Secretariat will not receive the specific justification for the refusal to grant individual delegates pre-approval and will not be able to provide you with such information. However, the decision to grant any ICFP delegate a Tourist (TR) MICE visa ultimately rests with the individual Thai embassies and consulates.
If you do not receive this pre-approval from DoCA, you are still permitted to apply directly to the embassy under which your country’s jurisdiction falls to obtain your Thai visa for ICFP2022. However, ICFP has been informed by the DoCA that the likelihood of acceptance of your visa application will be low.
Next Steps for Those Not Included in the Visa Application Pre-Approval Process
If you did not participate in the ICFP2022 visa application pre-approval process (by registering and uploading your passport information by the 15 September 2022 deadline), we recommend that you reach out to your designated Thai Embassy or Consulate to begin the Thai visa application process immediately.
Recent communications from ICFP on visas:
- ICFP2022 Visa Application Pre-approval Process Information
- ICFP2022 Getting Your Thailand Visa
- ICFP2022 Travel + Visa Town Hall Slides
- ICFP2022 Visa Instructions
- ICFP2022 Visa Feedback Form
PLEASE NOTE:
*While Thailand is no longer requiring COVID-19 vaccination to enter the country, the ICFP Secretariat is still requiring full vaccination against COVID-19 as a requirement to attend the conference in person.
If you are eligible for visa-on-arrival (check visa requirements by country here), the government of Thailand strongly recommends that you submit your application and supporting documentation online prior to traveling to Thailand in an effort to expedite the visa-on-arrival process.
The ICFP Secretariat extends our sincere appreciation to the community for their continued cooperation and partnership as we assist in securing visas for all ICFP2022 delegates who need them. We continue to work closely with the Government of Thailand and our partners – especially those in the Global South – to help make this process as efficient and successful as possible.
We want to hear from you!
Comments and questions about the ICFP2022 visa process can be submitted here. We are also interested in hearing from those who have completed the application process and successfully received their visa.
Stay up-to-date
ICFP2022 will continue to make announcements regarding the visa process and other important logistics information through the official ICFP2022 website, newsletter, and social media channels. Please sign up & follow below to stay informed!
