Visas and Letters of Invitation

Detecting and preventing visa fraud

Unfortunately, fraudulent registrations are sometimes used to obtain IETF letters of invitation for the purposes of visa fraud and so we actively work to detect and prevent this. If we determine that a meeting registration is fraudulent, we cancel the registration and report the fraudulent registrant to the visa authorities in the country in which we expect that visa application to be made. In addition, if we determine that a stolen credit card was used as part of this fraud then we refund the card.

IETF 125 Visas and Letters of Invitation (LOI)

To determine if you require a visa and for instructions on how to apply, please visit the China Online Visa Application website.

If you require a visa and your plans only include attending the IETF meeting, you may apply for an F-type visa. You will require the letter of invitation available to you from your participant dashboard if you apply for an F-type visa. You can request a letter of invitation issued by CNNIC and the IETF via your participant dashboard after you have registered for the meeting.

If your plans include tourism, you may apply for a type L-type visa.

The English version of the letter of invitation should be sufficient for all visa applications.

Some embassies may require the applicant to provide an invitation letter bearing the official seal of the inviter's company. If such an invitation letter is needed, the applicant will need to submit a scanned copy of the first page of their passport to support@ietf.org and fill in the information in this PDF.

This information will then be provided to CNNIC, the IETF 125 Meeting Host, who will help to process and issue the invitation letter bearing the official seal of CNNIC.