Women Gaining Nationality Through 'Marriage' Highlighted
"No Need to Worry About Visa Once Nationality Is Obtained"
There have been local reports that some Vietnamese women choose international marriage to acquire Korean nationality. The Vietnamese online media outlet 'VN Express' highlighted the lives of young Vietnamese women struggling to become Korean citizens.
On the 3rd (local time), the media aired a podcast titled "Borrowing Marriage to Naturalize in Korea." The broadcast featured stories of Vietnamese women in their 20s who married Korean men to obtain Korean nationality.
The goal of these young Vietnamese women is solely to "divorce after marrying a Korean husband." According to current law, foreigners who enter the country on a marriage immigration visa can apply for naturalization if they maintain the marital relationship for more than two years. They plan to use this to acquire nationality and then proceed with divorce.
A 20-year-old Vietnamese woman, identified as Ms. A, who wished to remain anonymous, said she paid 30 million dong (about 1.63 million KRW) to a matchmaking agency to find a Korean husband. She stated, "I set a goal to obtain nationality after three years and continue to settle and work in Korea, then get a divorce."
Ms. A received a list of 20 Korean male candidates through the matchmaking agency. She chose the most suitable partner among them. The two confirmed their agreement via video call, and the man visited Vietnam, staying for 4 to 5 days to meet Ms. A. Thus, Ms. A married a 47-year-old Korean husband.
Meanwhile, Ms. A received monthly support of 8 million dong (about 430,000 KRW) from her husband for Korean language study and living expenses. After six months of marriage immigration paperwork and Korean language learning, she entered Korea.
Why does Ms. A go through such a complicated process to naturalize? She explained, "Seeing people from my hometown going to Korea for illegal work, I thought it would be better to marry and acquire nationality. It means I don't have to worry about visas like others when working. Isn't that reasonable?"
She added, "With a Korean passport, I can go anywhere in the world, and it can bring a happy future to my children. I might also be able to support my family's migration."
According to the '2023 Marriage and Divorce Statistics' published by Statistics Korea last month, the number of marriages between Koreans and foreigners last year was about 19,700. Among them, Korean men who married foreign women numbered 14,700, with 33.5% confirmed to be of Vietnamese nationality.
Additionally, marriages between Korean women and foreign men increased by 7.5% to 5,000 cases, with marriages to Vietnamese men surging by 35.2% to 792 cases compared to the previous year. Analysts suggest that cases of Vietnamese women marrying Koreans to acquire Korean nationality, divorcing, and then marrying Vietnamese men again have increased.
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