International Visitors to Canada

International visitors to Canada (not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents) must carry a valid passport and, if required, a visa. Citizens from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and others do not require a visa to enter Canada. Visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website at www.cic.gc.ca for a complete listing of countries whose citizens require visas to enter Canada.

All other visitors should contact their Canadian consulate or embassy to learn what documents are required. Contact information for Canadian embassies around the world can be found at the Foreign Affairs Canada website at www.international.gc.ca.

American Visitors

Crossing the border, either way, you may be asked to verify citizenship with Government issued photo ID such documents as a passport, driver's license or a birth certificate. (Naturalized U.S. citizens should carry a naturalization certificate. Permanent U.S. residents who are not U.S. citizens are advised to bring their "green card".

The following are examples (but not limited to) of valid government-issued ID that may be counted toward the requirements of the Identity Screening Regulations:

• Passport
• Citizenship card
• Permanent Resident card
• Driver's license
• Health card
• Provincial/Territorial Government Identification Cards (GIC)
• Birth certificate
• Record of Landing Form / Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292)
• Immigration documents issued to foreign nationals (Work Permit, Study Permit, Visitor Record, Temporary Resident Permit, Refugee Approved Status)
• Canadian military ID
• Federal police ID
• Federal, Provincial, and Municipal government employee ID
• Social Insurance Number (SIN) card
• Old Age Security (OAS) Identification Card
• Certificate of Indian Status (Status Card) issued by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
• CBSA NEXUS Card

Travellers under the age of 18 and unaccompanied by a parent need a letter of permission to travel in Canada from a parent or guardian.

Non-US citizens traveling to Canada from (or through) the U.S.

It can take some time to acquire the necessary paperwork to travel to, from or through the U.S.

To find out about the visa requirements and timelines, we encourage you to consult the useful resources at:

• The National Academies International Visitor's Office
  
• The Toronto Consulate
  
• * State Department sites for
  • Visitor exchange (J) Visas
  • Student (F) visas
  • Updated fee schedule
  • (The State Department does not have much specific information for H visas.)
• * Transit visas, required for foreign (non-U.S.) nationals from non-Visa-Waiver countries who are changing planes in the U.S. on the way to Toronto.

For many attendees, there are dependencies between having work accepted for presentation, finding out about travel fellowships, paying for the conference registration, and getting a visa.  

Only authors of accepted works will be eligible for travel fellowships; authors will receive the application by email.

To obtain an invitation letter from ISCB confirming planned attendance at the conference, you must first register and pay for the conference.   If you are unable to attend ISMB, cancellation fees generally apply, but we will work with you if the cancellation were due to visa rejection.

ISMB's timelines are as follows:

4 months prior to ISMB

• March 19:   Paper acceptance notification (invitation to apply for travel fellowship funds sent to accepted authors)
• April 11:   VRS submission deadline
  

3 months prior to ISMB

• April 18:   Acceptance notification for posters, VRS, Highlights
  
• April 23:   TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE
  

2 months prior to ISMB

• May 21: Late poster submission deadline and technical track demo acceptance notification (ineligible for travel fellowship funding)
• May 25: TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION
• May 29: Late poster acceptance notification (ineligible for travel fellowship funding)
• June 4: Registration discount cutoff

ISMB

• July 17:   Start of conference