Letters of Invitation

Online requests for letters of invitation are still being accepted.

Delegates needing a letter of invitation for administrative purposes may still submit their requests through the online submission system. The deadline for submitting a request for a Letter of Invitation has been extended to Monday, 9 March 2015 at 12.00pm CET (Paris time). This will be the last opportunity to request a formal Letter of Invitation to the WCTOH by the Secretariat. Please note that the deadline for letters for visa purposes was 28 February 2015.

How . . .

The online submission system link will direct you to the Secretariat (The Union) services page, where you will be requested to either create a new account or log into your existing account. Once logged-in, click on 'Conferences' and select 'Invitation letter request' in order to submit your request. Fields for which you have no information to complete should be left blank, unless they are marked as required.

Please note that you will only be able to submit your request once for a smooth operation of the system. Multiple submissions will not be accepted by the system.

Pay close attention to the information that you enter when submitting your request, as the data that you enter (first name, last name, organisation, address, etc) will appear exactly as it has been entered, including any obvious errors.

Please take care to respect the format of the submission form. The format of the date is: DD/MM/YYYY and the punctuation is required in order for the submission to be accepted.

Information should be entered as it appears on your passport. Capital letters should only be used for initial characters. Please do not use all capital letters when submitting the form. The maximum number of characters allowed (space included) is 55 for the organisation, job title and address fields.

You must hold a valid passport to enter the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Your passport must be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of entry into the UAE.

If you are sponsored by The WCTOH Secretariat, please indicate so in the comments section. Please specify what you are sponsored for.

Who . . .

Delegates

The conference is open to all delegates with an interest in tobacco control, non-communicable diseases and lung health, including advocates, health care professionals, researchers and representatives of governments, nongovernmental organisations and civil society.

Declaration of Interest: Individuals who are supported or employed by any entity directly involved in the production, manufacture, distribution or sale of tobacco products are requested not to register or participate in this Conference. If nevertheless they do so, the conference organisers may cancel their registration without refund.

The Secretariat reserves the right to reject requests for Letters of Invitation that are not related to the conference.

Contributors (chairs, speakers, et al)

If you are contributing to the conference as a chair, speaker, coordinator, abstract author, etc, you may request that the session you are contributing to be mentioned in you Letter of Invitation. You will need to provide the details of the session name and session number (which are specified in the description sent to each contributor) in the Comments section of your submission form. The Secretariat will include this information in the letter, but these letters may require 1-2 extra working days to complete.

Accompanying persons

If you are travelling with an accompanying person, you should provide this information in the Comments section of your request, providing the full name of the accompanying person(s). In addition, accompanying persons are requested to create their own account using this link: online submission system. They will need submit to request their own Letter including the name of the delegate they will be accompanying in the Comments section.

Official language only

Please note that English is the official language of the Conference, and all Letters of Invitation will ONLY be provided in English.

How long. . .

Once the online Letter of Invitation has been requested, an automatic acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to you immediately. The Letter of Invitation will be emailed in approximately 3 working days following the submission of a request. Original copies of Letters of Invitation are sent by postal mail only upon request; and the date of receipt will depend on your local postal services. Delegates needing express carrier services should inform the WCTOH Secretariat before organising them from their country of residence. The costs related to express shipping are borne by the delegate.

The Letters of Invitation may be collected from the WCTOH Secretariat (The Union) Monday through Friday from 09:00-17:00 at the following address:

International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union)
68 Boulevard Saint-Michel
75006 Paris
France

Please ensure that you confirm the pick-up date with the WCTOH Secretariat once the shipping has been organised.

Deadline: 9 March 2015 at 12:00 (CET)

This is the deadline for submitting a request for a Letter of Invitation for administrative purposes only. The deadline for visa-related requests was Saturday, 28 February 2015.

No letters will be processed after 9 March. We recommend that you submit your request as soon as possible, in order to plan your conference participation efficiently.

If you have requested a scholarship and are successful, you will receive assistance from the WCTOH scholarships team, which will coordinate with you on the Letter of Invitation required for your visa.