On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 9:13 AM, Ellie Young <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first > response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My > comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our > attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple > of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until > April. > > And while we are on this subject, I want to reiterate that we expect > individuals to cover their own visa expenses as well as contacting the > British Consulate on their own or through a visa service in their home > country. The UK accepts applications for visas 90 days prior to the > expected date of entering the UK (applying before doesn't do any good.) > I'm feeling this is somehow against our general principle to give people from all around the world an equal opportunity. We don't want to classify people as "no visa needed" "visa required with simple application process" or "visa required with requirements which are difficult to satisfy" for access to Wikimania, but British government does, and usually, people from a less developed country face a more strict visa policy. It would be better to fill this natural gap between applicants based on their country of origin first, and if our budget disallows, do something that is equal to all applicants. -Liangent > Ellie > > > > > > On Jan 12, 2014, at 3:42 PM, aude <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:31 PM, Ellie Young <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I will be sure to take this up when we are putting together instructions >> this Spring. UK Immigation has agreed to >> put together a "how to apply" guide for our event. I will be sure this >> issue get put to them. >> >> > I wouldn't wait until spring to bring this up with UK immigration. > > It's not too soon to start now. The process for folks in Iran can take > quite a while (if similar to the process for Wikimania 2012 in the US) but > I think can be successful. > > People in Iran will need to travel (at least once) to a UK consulate in > Turkey or UAE to apply. > > > http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/iran/applying/?langname=UK%20English > > Cheers, > Katie > > > >> Ellie >> >> WMF Conference Coordinator >> >> On Jan 12, 2014, at 2:08 PM, Muhammad Yahia <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > Hi all, >> > >> > I received this question about visas for Iranian citizens and am >> passing it along: >> > >> > As it stands now, UK visa requirements for Iranian citizens is to have >> a bank account with (on average) 10000 USD or equivalent in the last six >> months, plus proof of ownership of a property in Iran, the documents have >> to be translated and notarized. >> > >> > Most of the volunteers interested in getting scholarship for WM or >> trying to arrange travel on their own are mostly young people who do not >> satisfy either conditions, is there something that the UK team can do about >> that? can they get confirmation that if they apply these requirements will >> be waived or something similar? >> > >> > Thanks! >> > -- >> > Best Regards, >> > Muhammad Yahia >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Wikimania-l mailing list >> > [email protected] >> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> > > > > -- > @wikimediadc / @wikidata > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > >
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