Status Change for Unregistered Residents Starting from the 14th
Among the Vietnamese group tourists who visited Jeju under the visa-free entry program, it has been confirmed that about 30 people did not board their return flights.
According to Jeju Tourism Organization on the 3rd, out of more than 80 Vietnamese who entered Jeju from Nha Trang, Vietnam, on a VietJet Air charter flight on the 14th of last month, 38 suddenly disappeared on the 17th of last month.
These 38 Vietnamese disappeared from the last tourist site they visited before boarding their return flight that day. They also did not board the return flight on the same day. The permitted stay period for those entering Jeju under the visa-free program is 30 days, until the 14th of this month. Exceeding this period results in illegal residency status.
However, authorities believe that since they did not board their return flights, there is a possibility they are attempting to stay illegally, and have begun efforts to locate them. Jeju Immigration Office will start active arrest operations from the 14th.
The disappearance of the Vietnamese tourist group has also caused repercussions in the travel industry. All six scheduled VietJet Air charter flights from the 25th of this month to February 13th of next year have been canceled.
Jeju Immigration Office is checking surveillance camera (CCTV) footage around tourist sites to track their whereabouts. The agencies plan to form a Jeju visa-free absconder arrest team on the 14th to carry out full-scale arrest operations.
Meanwhile, according to Jeju Immigration Office, from 2018 to last year, a total of 97 foreigners who entered Jeju under the visa-free program were caught attempting to leave Jeju without obtaining permission to extend their stay area.
In the two years before COVID-19, 2018-2019, 64 foreigners were caught attempting unauthorized departure. During the three years from 2020 to 2022, when the visa-free program was suspended due to the spread of COVID-19, only 14 unauthorized departures were detected, showing a significant decrease. However, the number surged to 19 last year.
In the first half of this year, 14 foreigners were caught by the Immigration Office attempting to leave Jeju without permission to extend their stay area.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
