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Ottawa student faces five days in Chinese jail over expired visa
BY LOUIS TURCOTTE, OTTAWA CITIZENMARCH 15, 2014
Jesse Konrad, left, who faces time in a Chinese jail over an expired visa, is the focus of a crowdfunding effort by sister Emma Konrad, to raise $2,200 to pay his fine. Konrad is pictrued here with his mother, Barbra Konrad.
OTTAWA — A Carleton University student on exchange in China says he’s facing the possibility of jail time over an expired visa.
Jesse Konrad, who’s been studying business at the Shanghai International Studies University since June, said that on Friday morning, two Shanghai policemen knocked on his door asking for his passport.
Konrad said he didn’t realize it, but his visa had a different expiry date than that of Canadian classmates on the exchange.
He soon discovered he had been in China illegally for 42 days.
“I didn’t actually look at the dates (on my visa),” Konrad said from Shanghai. “I just assumed I would be good to go until the beginning of July, like the others.”
Now, he has two choices: Pay a $2,000 US fine, or be jailed for five days. At the local police station, Konrad said, he was able to convince the police to free him for the weekend to figure things out. On Monday, he will return, either with the money or prepared for incarceration.
“I still don’t know what I’m going to do,” Konrad said. “Chinese jail ... I don’t even want to think what that might be like.”
Konrad worked throughout the summer of 2013 to pay for his studies, but he can’t afford the steep fine.
“I screwed up. I admit that, but I was given an incorrect visa in the first place,” he said. “It was an honest mistake, and it just seems like a harsh consequence.”
Konrad’s sister, Emma, also a Carleton student, has turned to the Internet to raise the $2,220 Cdn needed to help her brother.
She has set up a page on GoFundMe (gofundme.com/7jbt5w), a crowdfunding website.
“I hope that we can get enough or all of (the money) to get him out of this predicament,” said Emma, who said her family is unable to pay the fine.
The Konrad family doesn’t yet know if Jesse will have to leave China or face jail time, even if they do manage to pay the fine.
“Right now our current concern is just making sure he doesn’t go to prison,” said Emma. “We’re trying not to focus on (the problem) but to focus on a solution.”
A spokesperson for Carleton’s International Student Services Office confirmed Friday that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development had been made aware of the situation and that all parties were working to help resolve the matter.
According to ISSO manager John Nelson, students are responsible for obtaining their own visas and ensuring the dates correspond with their international exchange.
lturcotte@ottawacitizen.com
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa...ese+jail+over+expired+visa/9620042/story.html
BY LOUIS TURCOTTE, OTTAWA CITIZENMARCH 15, 2014
Jesse Konrad, left, who faces time in a Chinese jail over an expired visa, is the focus of a crowdfunding effort by sister Emma Konrad, to raise $2,200 to pay his fine. Konrad is pictrued here with his mother, Barbra Konrad.
OTTAWA — A Carleton University student on exchange in China says he’s facing the possibility of jail time over an expired visa.
Jesse Konrad, who’s been studying business at the Shanghai International Studies University since June, said that on Friday morning, two Shanghai policemen knocked on his door asking for his passport.
Konrad said he didn’t realize it, but his visa had a different expiry date than that of Canadian classmates on the exchange.
He soon discovered he had been in China illegally for 42 days.
“I didn’t actually look at the dates (on my visa),” Konrad said from Shanghai. “I just assumed I would be good to go until the beginning of July, like the others.”
Now, he has two choices: Pay a $2,000 US fine, or be jailed for five days. At the local police station, Konrad said, he was able to convince the police to free him for the weekend to figure things out. On Monday, he will return, either with the money or prepared for incarceration.
“I still don’t know what I’m going to do,” Konrad said. “Chinese jail ... I don’t even want to think what that might be like.”
Konrad worked throughout the summer of 2013 to pay for his studies, but he can’t afford the steep fine.
“I screwed up. I admit that, but I was given an incorrect visa in the first place,” he said. “It was an honest mistake, and it just seems like a harsh consequence.”
Konrad’s sister, Emma, also a Carleton student, has turned to the Internet to raise the $2,220 Cdn needed to help her brother.
She has set up a page on GoFundMe (gofundme.com/7jbt5w), a crowdfunding website.
“I hope that we can get enough or all of (the money) to get him out of this predicament,” said Emma, who said her family is unable to pay the fine.
The Konrad family doesn’t yet know if Jesse will have to leave China or face jail time, even if they do manage to pay the fine.
“Right now our current concern is just making sure he doesn’t go to prison,” said Emma. “We’re trying not to focus on (the problem) but to focus on a solution.”
A spokesperson for Carleton’s International Student Services Office confirmed Friday that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development had been made aware of the situation and that all parties were working to help resolve the matter.
According to ISSO manager John Nelson, students are responsible for obtaining their own visas and ensuring the dates correspond with their international exchange.
lturcotte@ottawacitizen.com
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa...ese+jail+over+expired+visa/9620042/story.html
