Korea to grant visa for heroic Kazakh man who saved people from blaze
Summary
The government will grant a G-1 visa to Ali, a 28-year-old Kazakh man who saved 10 people from a burning apartment in Yangyang County in Gangwon Province last month. The Ministry of Justice said the Korea Immigration Service is finishing the paperwork, and the visa will let him keep receiving treatment at a Seoul hospital. Ali was scheduled for deportation after his illegal status was discovered, but officials will also consider permanent residency.
Key Facts
- Ali suffered burns to his back, neck and hands while trying to rescue his neighbors from the fire.
- A woman on the second floor died after inhaling too much toxic smoke.
- A petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website calling for permanent stay rights for Ali had gathered more than 22,000 signatures.
- In a similar case, the government granted permanent residency to Sri Lankan migrant worker Katabilla Ketiye Ge-Dara Nimal Siri after he rescued a woman from a burning house in North Gyeongsang Province in 2017.
By Jung Min-ho
Ali, the undocumented hero from Kazakhstan / Yonhap
The government will grant a G-1 visa for the heroic Kazakh man who risked his life to rescue people from a burning building in Gangwon Province last month.
According to the Ministry of Justice Thursday, the Korea Immigration Service is completing the paperwork to give the visa for the man, 28, identified only by his given name Ali, whose bravery saved 10 people from a burning apartment at a town in Yangyang County on March 23.
He was scheduled to be deported after his illegal status came to light.
The visa will allow him to continue to receive treatment at a hospital in Seoul.
Ali suffered burns to his back, neck and hands while trying to rescue his neighbors. Unfortunately, a woman on the second floor died after inhaling too much toxic smoke.
The immigration office also said it would consider granting Ali permanent residency. On the Cheong Wa Dae website, a petition calling for the government to offer the permanent right to stay here has gathered more than 22,000 signatures.
In a similar case, the government awarded permanent residency to Katabilla Ketiye Ge-Dara Nimal Siri, a Sri Lankan migrant worker, 38, who saved a woman, 90, from a burning house in North Gyeongsang Province in 2017.
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