When you should get advice
- My husband says he will not sign or stamp my visa extension documents
- I left home because of my spouse's violence and am staying at a shelter
- My Korean spouse filed for divorce, and I am worried I will have to leave Korea if we divorce
- My spouse suddenly passed away, and I do not know how to continue my stay
- I am raising the child I gave birth to in Korea on my own
- Immigration says they will carry out an on-site investigation (실태조사) to check whether our marriage is genuine
Relevant laws
Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, Appended Table 1-2 (Marriage Migrant F-6)
It covers (a) (가목) the spouse of a Korean national; (b) (나목) a father or mother raising a child born from a marriage (including a de facto marriage) with a Korean national; and (c) (다목) a person who was staying in Korea while married to a Korean spouse and cannot maintain a normal marriage because of the spouse's death or disappearance or other reasons they are not responsible for.
Immigration Act Article 25-2 (Special Rules for Marriage Migrants, etc.)
If the spouse of a Korean national or a similar person who has a trial, investigation or other legal remedy in progress because of domestic violence applies to extend their period of stay, the extension can be permitted until the procedure ends, and further extended afterward if needed for recovery from the harm.
Act on Private International Law Article 66 (Divorce)
If one of the spouses is a Korean national whose habitual residence is in Korea, the divorce is governed by Korean law.
Statutes are summarized. The official Korean text is available at the Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr).
Your status of stay is tied to your marital status
Marriage migrant (F-6) item (a) is a status of stay based on being the spouse of a Korean national. So at every extension review, the authorities check whether the marriage is actually being maintained. That is why the review becomes difficult if you do not live together or your spouse does not cooperate.
That does not mean you must leave whenever the marriage breaks down. If you are raising a child born from a marriage with a Korean national, you can continue your stay under item (b). If the marriage cannot be maintained because of the spouse's death or disappearance or other reasons you are not responsible for, you can continue under item (c).
The key is who is mainly responsible
The Supreme Court interprets 'reasons they are not responsible for' in item (c) as cases where the Korean spouse is mainly responsible for the breakdown of the marriage. It does not mean the foreign spouse must be completely without fault. The Court also held that in a lawsuit challenging a refusal of status of stay, the burden of proving that reason lies with the authorities, and that the family court's findings in the divorce judgment should in principle be respected (Supreme Court Decision 2018Du66869, July 4, 2019).
That is why how the divorce is handled is directly tied to your stay. If you rush to finish with a divorce by agreement (협의이혼), there is no record of who was responsible. If there are circumstances such as the spouse's violence, leaving home, failure to pay living expenses or an affair, making that responsibility clear in a judicial divorce (재판상 이혼) may help in the immigration review.
If you have suffered domestic violence
A marriage migrant who has an investigation, trial or protection procedure in progress because of domestic violence can receive extensions of stay until the procedure ends. Even after the procedure ends, the stay can be extended if needed for recovery from the harm.
If there was violence, collect police report records, medical certificates, photos of injuries and confirmation of use of a counseling center or shelter. These materials are used in the criminal proceedings, the divorce lawsuit and the immigration review. If you are worried about being reported to immigration when you are questioned as a victim, discuss that in your consultation as well.
Preparing for on-site investigations and extension reviews
The immigration office sometimes carries out on-site investigations to check whether a marriage is genuine or how it broke down. What you tell the investigator is recorded and later used in reviews and lawsuits, so it is important not to say anything untrue or answer with guesses.
If you are separated, write down why and when the separation began, and keep records of who paid living expenses and how you kept in contact. The outcome of an extension during a divorce lawsuit depends on the office's judgment, so it is a good idea to apply early with the lawsuit documents ready.
How the Jisan Law Foreigner Center handles your case
- 1
Reviewing your stay and marriage together
We check your expiry date, whether you have children, how the separation happened and whether there was violence, and see which path is possible under F-6 items (a), (b) or (c).
- 2
Organizing evidence
We organize conversation records, police reports, medical certificates and money transfer records that show responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage.
- 3
Divorce lawsuit and stay application in parallel
While arguing over responsibility in the judicial divorce, we also prepare the documents for an extension of stay or change of status.
- 4
Challenging a refusal
If your stay is refused, we bring an administrative appeal or administrative lawsuit based on the findings of the divorce judgment.
Lawyers handling these cases
Hansol Kim Managing Partner
Former prosecutor (Incheon, Ansan, Hongseong) · University of Toronto
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Miso Kim Partner
Studied English interpretation and translation (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) · Former in-house counsel, Wemade
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Frequently asked questions
If my husband does not cooperate with my extension, will it be refused?
It is true that the review becomes difficult without your spouse's cooperation. However, if the reason they will not cooperate is that the marriage has broken down, other paths such as item (c) or the special rules for domestic violence can be considered. Keep messages and other records showing their refusal to cooperate.
Is a divorce by agreement bad for my stay?
A divorce by agreement is not bad in itself, but there will be no record of whose responsibility the breakdown was. To obtain F-6 item (c), you must show with other evidence that the Korean spouse was mainly responsible, so get advice before deciding how to divorce.
If I am raising a child, can I keep living in Korea after the divorce?
A parent raising a child born from a marriage with a Korean national can obtain marriage migrant (F-6) item (b) status. Custody and actually raising the child are important, so in the divorce lawsuit you should also argue over who will be designated as the person with parental authority and the custodial parent.
My Korean spouse suddenly passed away. Can I continue my stay?
The spouse's death is a reason expressly listed in marriage migrant (F-6) item (c). Prepare family relationship documents and documents related to the death showing that you were staying in Korea while married, and proceed with the immigration procedures. Since inheritance issues also arise, check the deadline (3 months) for renouncing the inheritance (상속포기) or accepting it with limited liability (한정승인).