4.10.7. Visa support documents

Following the communication about the visa, the convening lead will create the repository for visa support and store in there all the supporting documentation in separate folders:

• Venue confirmation of accommodation: The convening lead is responsible for asking the venue to produce individual confirmation of accommodation.
• Dummy bookings (flights and hotels): The convening lead or the Ops programme staff is responsible to provide dummy bookings for flights and/or hotels when necessary. It is recommended to always provide a dummy flight ticket for visa application, and only confirming the flight booking once the visa is approved. In the case of hotels or accommodations, there might be cases where the actual accommodation is not confirmed by the time the participant needs to apply for visa; in these cases, a hotel dummy reservation can apply. APC-accredited travel agents are capable to produce these dummy tickets.
• Visa support letters: The convening coordination team is responsible for producing a fitting paragraph with the description and purpose of the event and the role of the participants. The convening lead will produce a general visa support template letter mentioning the description and purpose of the event and stating all relevant personal details of the participant, duration of stay, and express mention of the financial support APC is providing.
  
  It is a responsibility of the Ops manager to make sure visa support letters are signed by the APC operations director as well as to coordinate with the local partner for defining the process of signing visa invitation letters for APC-supported participants.
• Visa Letters Templates
• Visa employment letters (APC staff only): It is the responsibility of the staff applying for a visa to request this letter directly from the APC HR team). The Ops core team will informthe staff participant of the steps to follow.

The convening lead is responsible for creating the corresponding folders within the event folder in Share2 where all the visa support documentation will be stored.

Visa invitation letters will be provided by APC only for convenings hosted or co-hosted by APC. When APC cannot sign the invitation letter due to limitations of non-local organisations to host events, APC will find a local partner to co-host the convening.

For all other external convenings in which APC participates, the invitation letter that is expected to be used in the visa application is the one provided by the hosts of the external convening. In these cases, APC can provide a support letter to participants that states the financial support provided to cover flights, accommodation, etc.