Marriage migrants will need to brush up on their Korean

Posted on : 2014-02-06 15:35 KST Modified on : 2014-02-06 15:35 KST
Ministry to introduce language and income standards that will make acquiring marriage visas tougher

By Kim Won-chul, staff reporter

Marriage migrants may be in for a tougher time getting visas with a planned amendment that would introduce Korean language proficiency and spousal income as eligibility criteria.

The Ministry of Justice announced on Feb. 5 that it had developed and given official notice of an amendment to the screening standards for issuing the F-6 marriage migrant visa.

The amendment would require migrants to be able to engage in basic communication with their South Korean spouse. Demonstrating proficiency would require a passing score on the first level of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), an examination administered by the Ministry of Education’s National Institute for International Education, or completion of a roughly six-month beginner’s level course at an educational institute approved by the Ministry of Justice.

Level 1 proficiency for the TOPIK requires a vocabulary of around 800 words, with testees able to introduce themselves, purchase items, and engage in other basic daily language activity.

Exemptions to the language proficiency requirements would be granted to marriage migrants with Korean-related degrees or more than a year‘s experience living in South Korea, those capable of communicating with their spouse in another language, and those who already have children with their South Korean spouse.

Other countries also demand that prospective immigrants meet language proficiency criteria. Great Britain requires English test scores, while those hoping to immigrate to the Netherlands must pass a “social integration test” requiring basic knowledge of Dutch language and society.

“We’re looking at this as a way of correcting an international marriage culture where men and women who can’t even communicate with each other are getting married after only a short time together, and of preventing situations where people abuse marriage to a South Korean as a way of getting into the country,” said an official at the Ministry of Justice on condition of anonymity.

But some are calling the TOPIK requirements unrealistic.

“The women who marry South Koreans often live in rural regions,” said Rev. Park Chun-eung, director of the Ansan Migrant Workers’ Center. “How are they supposed to study Korean when even people in the cities have a tough time doing that?”

“All this is going to do is build up a private Korean academy market in Southeast Asian countries,” Park predicted.

The amended standards would also require a South Korean spouse to make at least 120% of the minimum cost of living before taxes for each household member for one year to sponsor a foreign spouse’s visa. This amounts to almost 14.8 million won (US$13,700) per year for a two-person household.

The current regulations state only that determinations about support capabilities will be made “in consideration of the sponsor’s history of bankruptcy or court rulings on debt default.”

For households with other family members, the required amount goes up - a sponsor with a three-person household would require an income of 19.1 million won (US$17,800), while one with a four-person household would need 23.5 million won (US$21,800). Visas would be allowed for sponsors without income as long as a direct relation living with them met the income criteria. The income requirements would be waived for couples with a child.

The US currently demands that sponsors prove an income equivalent to at least 125% the federal poverty rate. Great Britain also requires sponsor to have a yearly income of over 18,600 pounds.

Some are worrying that the income standard would take the option of international marriage away from poor South Koreans who are unable to find a spouse in the country. Indeed, the Ministry of Justice predicted that marriage migrant visa issuance would drop by 20-30% if the new standards are introduced as of Apr. 1.

A total of 14,137 marriage migrant visas were issued in 2013.

“South Korea uses a marriage reporting system, so people will still be free to have international marriages,” said the Ministry of Justice official. “What we want to do here is correct an abnormal international marriage culture by not allowing marriage migrant visa issuance that would allow people to stay in the country over the long term without meeting the screening requirements.”

 

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