Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Korea improves visa system for divorced immigrants with children
Human rights activists demand rights protection for marriage migrant women during a protest in front of Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, in this July 15, 2019, file photo. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
Migrants who become single parents after divorce or the death of their Korean spouse will now be able to stay in Korea even after their children reach adulthood, according to the Ministry of Justice, Tuesday.
The ministry said that foreign residents formerly married to Korean citizens who become single parents of adult children will now be eligible for the resident F-2 visa if they meet certain requirements.
Currently, a marriage immigrant is granted an F-6-2 when marrying a Korean. If the marriage ends due to reasons such as divorce or the death of the spouse, the foreign resident is able to retain their visa status if they're raising children. If the parent has not gained permanent residency or Korean nationality by the time their children reach adulthood, they are given an F-1 visa for visiting family.
The problem with the visa change is that F-1 visa holders have limits in regards to employment, unlike those with F-6-2 visas, raising criticisms that their legal status becomes unstable once their children grow up.
So the government decided to change the regulations to grant residency status to these single parents so they can stay here comfortably with their adult children.
However, the ministry said it will review minimum requirements such as whether the visa applicants have actually raised children for at least five years in Korea, if they have fulfilled their duty as a care provider and whether their Korean language proficiency reaches a specific level.
“They have to renew the F-2 visa every three years. But once they get the visa, it means they have met the requirements, so renewal won't be difficult,” a ministry official said.
If the marriage migrants do not meet all the requirements, such as an insufficient level of Korean language ability, the government will grant an F-2 visa but the stay period will be limited to one year. The parents can get a three-year visa after improving their language skills.
“We will do our best to establish a healthy international marriage and family culture by providing continuous support, such as improving related systems, so that single-parent marriage migrants and their children can live a healthy life,” the official said.