TCC 2023

Visas

Visa-Exempt Countries

The Bureau of Consular Affairs maintains a list of visa-exempt countries. Regardless of where you are coming from, you should plan to have 6 months or more of validity left on your passport. If you belong to this group of countries, then there should be no further requirements.

Nationals of India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos who also hold a valid visa or permanent resident certificate issued by Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, any of the EU and Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, or the United States, OR who have been issued an entry visa or resident card by the ROC at any point in the past 10 years and have no record of immigration irregularities or law violations in Taiwan are eligible for the visa exemption program. Those who meet the above qualification should apply via the online application for ROC Travel Authorization Certificate. After completion, the printed-out certificate can be used by the foreign visitor for airplane boarding and during immigration inspection. During the immigration inspection, foreign visitors who cannot show a valid visa or permanent resident certificate issued by one of the aforementioned countries will not be admitted into Taiwan. For details of required conditions and the duration of stay, please refer to the information provided by the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior.

Non-Visa-Exempt Countries

It is imperative that authors and attendees of countries that do not have visa-exempt entries into Taiwan allow sufficient time to obtain visas. You may be required to travel to the nearest place where Taiwan has a diplomatic outpost.

1. For Macau, Hong Kong or People's Republic of China passport holders, please read the information in the next section of this page.
2. Nationals from particular countries are eligible for an eVisa. If you do not belong to the above categories, please read this information sheet.

Specifics for Macau or Hong Kong, or People's Republic of China Passport Holders

If you have a Macau or Hong Kong Passport, please apply at https://coa.immigration.gov.tw/coa-frontend/overseas-honk-macao and allow about a full work week (5 working days) to be on the safe side.

Further Specifics for People's Republic of China Passport Holders

You will need the equivalent of a Visa into Taiwan. More precise instructions may be found below.

If you currently do not live in mainland China

This section was last updated August 30, 2023

If you belong to this category, you will need a 入台證, the equivalent of a visa into Taiwan. Please apply at https://coa.immigration.gov.tw/coa-frontend/overseas-foreign-china and allow about 10 days to be on the safe side.

If you are not qualified to apply for a visa online, please follow the steps the same as those who live in mainland China (except that you don't need the permission, or 大通證, from the Chinese government to travel from China to Taiwan). After sending the application, we will notify you to have an interview.

If you have any other questions, write to the General Chairs with the title TCC 2023 VISA.

If you currently live in mainland China

This section was last updated September 2, 2023

If you belong to this category, you will need a 入台證, the equivalent of a visa into Taiwan. This application needs to come from us.

We have put up a secure website (https://troll.iis.sinica.edu.tw/tcc23prereg/) to collect information from you.

We will be in touch to collect 600 CNY for those whose 入台證 has been granted.

You will need (all in PDF files):

• your Chinese official, both sides
• a passport photo 2 inches square
• a proof of employment
• a proof of specialty (your highest degree certificate)
• a filled out application form (this is available from our website)

As noted above, this sort of visa process is variable and might take a long time. To avoid getting an ulcer as you wait, apply by the first date listed below if possible. The first batch of applications has a deadline of September 6, 2023 (AOE). The second batch of applications has a deadline of September 15, 2023 (AOE).

Also, you must apply for a government-issued permit to travel (大通證) to Taiwan. This is usually a provincial-level application in China.

You will need some processing time at your institute. Please at your earliest convenience ask your own institution about what is needed by your employer as well as in your province (city) for traveling to Taiwan, as well as filing your information to us on our secure website as early as possible, preferably by September 6, 2023.

Applying for permission to travel to Taiwan (大通證) usually entails an extra invitation letter plus several forms, all in Mandarin. You will need to file further documents in China. It is best if these can happen in parallel with your visa-like application in Taiwan. For any questions, please contact us via tcc2023 at iacr dot org with the subject "TCC 2023 VISA". Specify your accepted paper if applicable.

You will be supplied with a letter of invitation and all necessary documents to apply for your 大通證 as well as to get as much paperwork done at your institution prior to sending it to your provincial Taiwanese affairs office.

If you currently reside in mainland China and are a People's Republic of China passport holder, and you think you are coming to Taiwan but if you have not yet written to us, please do so as soon as possible at tcc2023 at iacr dot org with the title "TCC 2023 VISA". In addition to specifying your accepted paper, include the name of your faculty advisor as well, who may be asked to verify that you intend to attend the conference in person.

Additional Notes on Visas

If you are not an accepted author, you will need to specify if you are a postdoc, a student, and/or have published at an IACR venue. If none of the previous descriptions apply, please provide the name of someone who has published at a crypto or information security conference as a reference.

We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience but the IACR has run into some visa fraud in the recent past. When registration is open, it is usually expected that you would register first and then ask for the invitation letter, but we will provide one early if you are an accepted author or can provide a reference. If you have exceptional circumstances, please write to us.

While we (TCC 2023 organizers) believe that we answer every email we get at tcc2023@iacr.org, there is no guarantee that we will receive every email sent. If you send an email and do not receive a response, please write to theoryofcryptography2023@gmail.com to verify your communication to our main account has been received.