RoboCup 2008 China Newsletter #1

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Dear all,

After a series of discussions within and between RCF and LOC, now we would like to notify following messages about RoboCup 08, Suzhou, China.

1. VISA
*General Information

-Generally, an overseas visitor needs visa for his/her visit to China. There are different kinds of visa with different requirements (say, different types of invitation letter). Sometimes there may be even some differences in the application processes/rules for the same kind of visa between different countries. Therefore, participants or spectators should contact the Chinese Embassy in their country or the Chinese Consulate in the consular jurisdiction for the detailed information.

-In all cases, the applicant or his/her travel/visa agent MUST GO IN PERSON to the visa office of the Embassy or Consulate in the CONSULAR JURISDICTION where he/she is a resident to submit the application. In other words, no one can get visa by post/mail. It is thus suggested by some participants to China Open and visitors to Chinese universities in the past to use a travel agency specializing in travel to China. Please note that, however, this may take more time.

*Special Cases

-Visitors from the following countries need an original invitation letter from the authorized Chinese departments in order to apply for an visa at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate. Iran, Nigeria, Turkey

-Within 15 days, people (not including reporters, diplomats, etc) from the following countries can enter China by the passport, no visa requirement. Brunei, Japan, Singapore

*Taiwanese need to apply for journey certificates, please visit following website for the details: www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/lsfw/qzjj/t266910.htm.

2. Invitation Letters

There are two types of letters that the LOC will provide correspondingly.

-Type1: PDF format letters singed by the general co-chairs. The LOC will send the Type 1 letters to all the participants by email within 10 working days after the corresponding registration closes (see Section 3 for more details about registration dues). If a team completes its registration earlier, we may send the letter earlier.

-Type2: Original letters issued by the authorized Chinese departments and particularly required by participants. The copy of each participants passport is required for this letter. After receiving the copy, it will take about 10 working days to issue the invitation letter. Then the post process of the original letter will take 3-15 days before the participant receives the posted letter, depending on the international post service the participant chooses and the country/region where the participant receives the posted letter. Participants from Iran, Nigeria, or Turkey may need the letters of this type.

3. Registration Dues

-For senior teams from Iran, Turkey, or Nigeria: April 20

-For other senior teams: May 15

-For junior teams: May 20

-For individuals who only attend the symposium: June 15

Please contact us if you have any further questions. You can also get some information from the website of the event (http://robocup-cn.org/?flang=zh-CN).

Best regards,

Zengqi Sun and Xiaoping Chen