Yep, temporarily at least. That money got used on getting me out of jail and to Canada.
In Thailand, being a police officer is an entrepreneuial activity, so every step of the way there's added fees if you want decent treatment.
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This (my) post a few pages back ... #171:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiles
In my experience South East Asian consulates hand out visitor visas on a no questions asked basis, no care, no responsibility. The Cambodians allow for a visa to be issued without any sighting of the passport whatsoever with their online visa application. It's always up to the Immigration officers at the border to decide whether they will permit the visa holder to enter the country, and that's true of every country in the world.
the Lao don't care about overstay, of course it is Always up to the discretion of the relevant immigration officer. But fact is, the Lao don't care, there are no blacklisting rules for overstaying, no jail time, just a fine payable. The question you should ask yourself is this, if the Lao have a law to not allow blacklisted persons (which I doubt actually exists, as I know people who gained access to Lao whilst being blacklisted from Thailand) how come Nong Khai immigration let Matt just leave, instead of just deporting him as they apparently have done after the 90 minute hissy fit he threw at the Lao. (unless of course the 20K went into their own back pocket :D)
I think Matty is not telling the whole truth.
I was given special treatment. Why do you think I was out of IDC so quickly? I was only there for about 54 hours, and was out. And the only reason it was that long was because there were a couple delays on our end getting the flight booked, but I could have been out probably 18 hours earlier. That never happens. If you end up at IDC, expect at least 5 days if not longer, all depending on your situation, or at least that's what I gathered from others stories. Many are in there for weeks or months before being deported, and I guess some even years. They took care of me as quickly as they could, but still had to go through the proper deportation procedure.
Then the Nong Khai police were awesome. They let Leo stay with me, thanked him for taking care of me, put us in our own room, brought us food from the market, etc. I was terrified so wasn't eating, and for some reason Leo told them I like alcohol quite a bit during check-in, so the one police officer said if I eat my jot for breakfast, he'll bring me some alcohol later that afternoon, which he did, so that was nice of him. Then Leo was allowed to come and go as desired, so it was no problems.
Then I'm assuming this isn't standard, but the guy organizing our departure to BKK called Leo and told him where to be and when. When I got out of the prison truck Leo was there, and we were allowed to wander around the airport a bit by ourselves, have a cigarette, and say goodbye to each other. Granted, there was an airport cop following us around the entire time, but nonetheless, I don't think most inmates get that kind of treatment.
When he was organizing our departure, I didn't have my luggage, so we called Leo and got him to rush to the IDC to drop it off. My luggage finally arrived, but there was no Leo in sight, as I guess he was stuck outside of the secured area. I pleaded with the guy to let me just give me a quick 5 second hug before I go back to Canada. He empathized with me, and said it's because he's from Burma so he knows what it's like to be a foreigner too. Unfortunately, the guys at the gate wouldn't let Leo in, so the Burma guy must have called him and arranged for us to spend some time at BKK in the morning before I left.
Huh ? Anyone can get out of the IDC quickly as long as they can produce a ticket home and the fine payable, which could be as low as 12K regardless of the lenght of overstay. We all know the stories of the IDC, I personally know someone who has been a lawyer for people banged up in the IDC for years, you have not really been given special treatment at all. As long as you pay and produce that ticket, they won't hold you any longer than strictly necessary.
As I understand it there are degrees of blacklisting and Matt received the highest grade. Perhaps lower-grade blacklists receive a different treatment.
How could "Nong Kai immigration" deport Matt? Denying entry and telling him to go back to Thailand is deportation if someone enters via a land border. It's only at airports where a formal deportation occurs because the offender has to be placed onto an aircraft to take him back to where he belongs. (Yes, I used to work for a border security outfit)
Matt strikes me as a typical Millenial. That is, he's needy and he thinks he's special. If he was making this story up he would have done some more thorough research to make sure it hangs together rather than giving opportunities for the Forum Nasties to try to pick holes.
I am confused ....is Matt enroute to Canada? I thought he was going to live with Leo in Lao? And where are Matt's dogs?