Marriage immigration dips after new visa regulations

By Kim Se-jeong

The number of immigrants who settled here through marriage has declined sharply after toughened visa regulations went into effect in April last year, according to a study released Friday.

The Korea Multi-Culture Research Institute, a private think tank, said the number of F-6 visas issued by the Korean Embassy in Vietnam was almost halved, from 5,708 in 2013 to 2,967 in 2014. Those visas are issued to marriage migrants.

Kim Jong-wook, a researcher from the institute, said the issuing of visas also declined in other Asian countries due to the revised visa regulations requiring brides to have an advanced level of Korean language proficiency during visa interviews, and requiring Korean spouses to prove their economic capability to support the spouse and family.

Government officials said the strengthened visa rules were in response to recurring family problems involving interracial couples. According to statistics, domestic violence was especially high among interracial couples compared with others.

But Kim was critical of the toughened regulations.

“That will not solve fundamental problems,” Kim said. “The Justice Ministry’s policy seems to go against the bigger trend that the Korean society is becoming more diverse.”

Kim said issues like domestic violence should be dealt with through social programs.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Families, almost 300,000 wives in the country were foreign-born as of December. Including their spouses and children, the number of multiracial family members reached almost 800,000. The government projects that number will continue to grow.

Interracial marriages reached their peak in 2005. That was driven by bachelors in rural areas who flew to Southeast Asian countries to find spouses.

Side effects began to appear. Violence by the Korean spouses, mostly husbands, was the most common. Marriage brokerage became a thriving business, and some brokers arranged fake marriages or disappeared after taking money from clients.

In 2010, the Cambodian government banned marriages between its citizens and Koreans. This followed reports that its citizens were being injured and killed in Korea.