If Divorced Without Children, Immediate Deportation from Korea... Foreign Daughters-in-Law Feeling Pressured [The Harsh Reality of International Marriage]

"Need to Resolve Dependent Relationships Between International Marriage Couples"
"Societal Perceptions Viewing Them as Migrants Must Change"
"Overly Broad Policies Must Become More Detailed"

Editor's NoteAlthough the rate of international marriages in South Korea has surpassed 10% of all marriages, showing a trend toward normalization, various side effects continue to emerge. Due to the failure to eradicate the practices of illegal brokerage agencies, controversies over transactional marriages and complaints of fraudulent marriages persist. The breakdown of multicultural families arising from these issues leads to educational problems among students. This article examines the unreasonable practices occurring in the international marriage brokerage market and explores the structural causes and possible solutions.

Experts agree that regarding problems within international marriages and multicultural families, not only institutional improvements are necessary but also a change in societal perspectives must come first. They emphasize the need to establish policy alternatives that can resolve the dependent relationships between international marriage couples caused by visa and residency issues, and to improve the perception of international marriages as subjects of legal management. There is also a call for detailed policy support for multicultural families and multicultural students as an urgent matter.

"International Marriages Created by Visa and Residency Issues Must First Resolve Dependent Relationships Between Spouses"

Hwang Seonhun Administrative Officer

Experts analyzed that the root cause of various incidents related to international marriages lies in the dependent relationships between spouses caused by visa and residency issues. It is difficult to form an equal spousal relationship when one must constantly be cautious to secure their stay in Korea.

The current maximum duration of stay for the marriage immigrant (F-6) visa is three years. Foreigners entering Korea on an F-6 visa must maintain a normal marital life with their Korean spouse for two years to qualify for permanent residency (F-5). To apply for the F-5 visa, personal information within the family must be submitted, and income and assets must exceed certain thresholds. For foreigners from developing countries with lower income levels than Korea, applying for the F-5 visa is difficult without the help of their Korean spouse.

Foreigners who divorce before completing two years of marriage must leave Korea immediately. If they have children to raise, they can stay until the children reach adulthood through the child-rearing (F-6-2) visa, but if they have no children, they are deported immediately. Ultimately, foreigners wishing to stay in Korea have no choice but to depend on their Korean spouse to avoid becoming undocumented residents.

Administrative officer Hwang Seon-hoon said, "Foreigners need the consent and related documents from their Korean spouse to obtain permanent residency or naturalization. It is impossible to submit family relationship certificates, marriage certificates, and various income-related documents without the Korean spouse's consent and cooperation." He added, "In such an unequal relationship, if there is even a mistaken perception that the wife was bought with money through illegal international marriage brokers, family problems are bound to arise."

He continued, "To resolve these issues, support is needed so that foreigners do not face language barriers when applying for marriage immigrant visas or permanent residency, and services that allow them to easily seek advice on visa applications or legal matters are necessary first."

"Societal Perception of Foreign Spouses as Subjects of Scrutiny Must Disappear"

Lee Je-ho 'Immigrant Center Friend' Lawyer

There were also calls for a change in societal perspectives to view foreigners who enter through international marriage as members of Korean society. Lawyer Lee Jae-ho of the 'Migrant Center Chingu' said, "Even international marriage families living well without major conflicts still find it difficult to escape the stigma of being migrants when it comes to visa and legal issues." He pointed out, "When a foreign woman with a child remarries a Korean man, even if the Korean man wants to adopt, the process is very complicated because the unique nature of family formation is not considered, and the minor foreign national is viewed as entering without legal residency status."

He added, "There are foreign women who became pregnant after international marriage but divorced without realizing it. In such cases, the child’s father must directly prove that he is Korean for the mother to stay in the country. However, this is often difficult to prove. It is almost impossible for foreigners unfamiliar with Korean language or culture to file lawsuits."

He explained, "If multicultural families are living as normal members of society, the barriers regarding visas and residency should be lowered. Multicultural families formed through international marriage should be viewed as social members who can continue to settle in Korea just like native families."

"Detailed and Customized Policies Needed for Diverse Multicultural Families and Students"

Yang Gyemin, Ph.D., Korea Youth Policy Institute

Yang Gye-min, a researcher at the Korea Youth Policy Institute, said that policies for multicultural families, multicultural students, and youth have been promoted for over 15 years domestically, and while a broad policy framework has been established, further segmentation and substantial improvement are still needed. He pointed out, "There are limits to policies that view multicultural students with diverse migration backgrounds as a single group."

He added, "Viewing them as heterogeneous entities hinders social integration. It is important that they are recognized as ordinary people living in the same Korea." Researcher Yang also noted, "There are still people expressing negative attitudes toward multicultural families through social networking services (SNS), and as they actively voice their opinions, they induce biased perspectives, which is also a problem."