ICC2019 Shanghai Travel Options
Regarding traveling to Shanghai China for ICC2019, in general, there are 3 ways:
- Follow the 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy
- Apply for the F Category Visa (Visa Assistance/Invitation Letter required)
- Apply for the L Category (No invitation letter required)
The 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy
You can find this Policy on the Visa in Shanghai page of the Official Shanghai China Travel Website.
China's 144-hour visa-free transit policy is carried out in several cities in China to facilitate international travelers. It allows passengers from 53 countries or regions to transit for no more than 144 hours (6 days) without holding a visa. Shanghai is one of the cities.
Who can enjoy China 144-hour visa exemption? - List of 53 Qualified Countries can be found on the above website.
Please note that this policy is only applicable to “transit travelers.”
What is an eligible transit route?
A → B (Shanghai, in this case) → C
A and C should be different countries or regions out of Mainland China.
* Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea can be the Destination A or C, so the route "UK-Shanghai-Hong Kong" is acceptable as another route "US-Shanghai-Japan".
More details of the policy, including illustrations, can be found on the Travel China Guide website.
If your travel doesn’t match the 144-hour exemption policy, to apply for Visa, depending on the Visa category, you may need a “notice” as termed on the “Visa in Shanghai” web page. It would be a Visa Assistance or Invitation Letter we usually called.
About Chinese Visa
Please see the official Chinese Government Visa “About Chinese Visa” information page.
Among the Visa categories, “F” is the one for attending conferences. It is “issued to those who intend to go to China for exchanges, visits, study tours and other activities.” An invitation letter or Visa assistance letter is required.
For some attendees, it is easier to apply for a Tourist (Category L) visa; an invitation letter is NOT required for obtaining a Tourist visa. For US applicants, the L-Visa is good for 10 years with multiple entries.
For those who are going from USA, there is more How-To-Apply information posted by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America.
IEEE China will issue the invitation letter for ICC2019 attendees. If you are an author and need an invitation letter, please request on EDAS. For other attendees, please go to ComSoc Visa Request page to make the request.
