Blog, Divorce

Due to unfortunate circumstances, marriages can come to an end. Divorce itself is difficult enough, but if you are here in Korea on a marriage immigration visa – F-6 visa – there are a few other things that you need to be aware of. In this article we will go over the F-6 visa, and what happens to the F-6 visa in case of a divorce in Korea, with or without children. Read on to find out more about F6 visa & divorce in Korea.

What is an F6 Visa in Korea? 

An F-6 visa is a visa you receive after marrying a Korean citizen. Technically, there are 3 sub-categories.

• The F-6-1 visa is the visa you receive when marrying a Korean citizen. 
• The F-6-2 visa is granted if you have custody of children born out of the marriage (including de-facto marriage) with a Korean citizen.
• The F-6-3 visa is granted if you have been married to a Korean citizen but, through no fault of your own, the marriage has ended. This could be due to death, disappearance, or divorce (more on that below).

F-6 visa’s original valid period is one year (two years if you took the Initial Orientation Course for Marriage Immigrants before alien registration), and should be renewed every one or two years (three years if you have a child) thereafter. It’s possible to renew from four months before the expiration date.

What are the requirements to keep your F6 visa?

Basically said, to keep your F-6-1 visa and stay in Korea, you need to stay married to your Korean spouse. And if you have been living for more than two years in Korea while having F-6 Visa, you can apply for F-5 visa (“permanent residency visa”), which is the best visa for foreigners in Korea. But let’s say that you didn’t or couldn’t change your visa into F-5, so your visa is still F-6-1, but you are about to divorce. Now what would happen to you?

Generally speaking, if you divorce your partner, you will have to leave Korea. However, if you have children or if the end of the marriage was not your fault, then you can apply for the F-6-2 and F-6-3 visas, which allow you to stay in Korea after the end of your marriage. We will discuss the requirements for these two visas’ types more in-depth below. 

F6 Visa and Divorce in Korea

If you have come to the difficult decision to apply for a divorce from your Korean partner, there are three ways you can proceed with your divorce: divorce by agreement, divorce by mediation, and divorce by trial.

Divorce by Agreement is called 협의이혼 in Korean and is the easiest way to get a divorce in Korea. It is best for couples who have come to an amicable decision to proceed with a divorce, as it requires you and your partner to set the terms of the divorce together. 

You need to reach an agreement on the following subjects

• Whether you will get a divorce
• How to divide the property
• Compensation of mental damages (Only in a case where one of the spouses is liable for divorce, such as committing adultery or domestic abuse)
• And, if you have children
  • Parental rights and custody
  • How much child support will be paid
  • Visitation rights

You and your partner will have to visit the court together to present your divorce agreement. After the initial visit, you have to visit again after 1 month (3 months if you have children) to finalize the divorce.

If your partner does not stick to the agreement, you will have to sue them in court, and proceed to “Divorce by Mediation” or “Divorce by Trial” written below.

If you and your partner cannot fully decide on all terms, you can proceed with a Divorce by Mediation (조정이혼). Divorce by mediation is also a prerequisite before starting a divorce by trial. During mediation, a mediator will help both parties come to an agreement. You can present yourself, or you can hire a lawyer who will be present in your stead. After you reach an agreement, the divorce is finalized immediately by the court. As this divorce has the power of execution, you can apply for legal enforcement if your partner does not follow the agreement, without having to file a lawsuit.

Finally, if you cannot come to an agreement with a mediator, you can proceed to court for a Divorce by Trial (소송이혼). This is also done when your partner is missing. Even if you file for a divorce by trial, you still have to go to a mediator for at least one session. After that, the court will investigate your case and will make a ruling regarding whether you can divorce, and the matters about your property division, compensation, and custody.

A divorce by trial is a lengthy procedure and can take upwards of 6 months. It is highly recommended to work together with a lawyer, as the court will initiate family investigations and you will be subject to questioning during the procedure.

Whichever method you choose to finalize your divorce, it is important to understand what the effects will be for your F-6 visa.

1. Divorce Without Kids

If you do not have any kids, you will not be eligible for an F-6-2 visa after your divorce. Therefore, after your divorce, you will either lose your visa, or you will be eligible for an F-6-3 visa if you can prove that the divorce is no fault of your own through a trial.

1.1 Losing your visa

If you and your partner already divorced through a mutual agreement or through mediation, you can’t renew your F-6-1 visa anymore. (So, you’d better renew your visa “before” your divorce is finalized in the court, in order to make your stay in Korea as long as possible)

If your F-6-1 visa passed its expiration date, and you are not granted with F-6-3 visa, you will either have to leave the country or try to switch your visa to another visa type. If you don’t have any other visa to apply for, the final visa you should try is F-1-6 visa, which is a permit to stay in Korea for six months to prepare to leave the country after divorce. You can use those six months to clean up your rental deposit, get your property division from your ex-spouse, etc.

1.2 Requirements for F-6-3 visa

If you can prove that the end of the marriage is not your fault, you would be eligible for an F-6-3 visa. However, to prove that the marriage has ended due to your Korean spouse, you have to go to court and divorce by trial. If your spouse has passed away or disappeared, you could be granted the F-6-3 visa as well.

Whose fault the divorce is, is of course very subjective and difficult to prove in court. Therefore, these trials often take quite a long time and it is strongly recommended that you work together with lawyers to make your case.

There are several situations in which you can prove that the end of the marriage is not your fault:

• Unchastity of your partner – this does not just mean that your partner has committed adultery, but also refers to other forms of unfaithfulness.
• Maliciously deserted – If your spouse has neglected their obligation to live as a couple and support the household.
• Mistreatment – If you or your parents have been mistreated by your spouse or his or her parents.

The reason for divorce needs to be proven using several official documents to show that the end of the marriage was not your fault. After the ruling is made in your favor, you can apply for the F-6-3 visa.

2. Divorce with kids

If you and your Korean partner have underaged children together, you could apply for an F-6-2 visa, if you have custody of the child or have substantial visitation rights. The child has to be born out of your (de-facto) marriage with your Korean spouse, which includes any children born while you were living together before getting married. 

If you do not receive custody rights or visitation rights, you will lose your visa and will have to leave Korea when your visa expires. 

2.1 Child Custody

In Korea, child custody is awarded to the parent who has been taking care of the child the most. If there is a history of abuse, drinking, debts, etc, which prevent the parent from taking care of the child properly, the custodial rights will go to the other spouse. 

You do not have to go to court to get custodial rights, this can also be decided on through a Divorce by Agreement or a Divorce by Mediation. However, as a Divorce by Agreement does not have the power of execution, you will have to go to court to sue your ex-partner if they do not honor the agreement that was made.

If you have received the custodial rights for your children, you can apply for the F-6-2 visa to raise them in Korea. The F-6-2 visa is valid until the children reach adulthood.

2.2 Visitation Rights

You can also keep your visa if you do not have custodial rights, but do have substantial visitation rights. Commonly, visitation rights are set at two weekends per month by the courts, but this is something that you and your partner can also discuss by yourselves. If immigration deems that your visitation rights are substantial, you are eligible to receive the F-6-2 visa.

2.3 Child Support

If you did not receive custodial rights, you will have to pay child support to your partner. How much you have to pay depends on the age of your children and the income of you and your partner. Take a look at this table from the Seoul Family Court for a rough estimate of child support. 

Let’s say you earn 3,000,000 KRW and your spouse earns 2,000,000 KRW. Together you earn 5,000,000 KRW per month. You have a 4-year old daughter. Earning 5,000,000 KRW per month, you have to spend about 1,189,000 per month on child-rearing. As you earn ⅗ of the total income, you will pay ⅗ x 1,189,000 = 713,400 KRW per month in child support. 

	0~1,990,000won	2,000,000~2,990,000won	3,000,000~3,990,000won	4,000,000~4,990,000won	5,000,000~5,990,000won	6,000,000~6,990,000won	7,000,000~7,990,000won	8,000,000~8,990,000won	More than9,000,000won
Age0~2	532,000won	653,000won	818,000won	948,000won	1,105,000won	1,294,000won	1,388,000won	1,587,000won	1,753,000won
Age3~5	546,000won	732,000won	896,000won	1,053,000won	1,189,000won	1,379,000won	1,576,000won	1,732,000won	1,924,000won
Age6~11	623,000won	776,000won	952,000won	1,136,000won	1,302,000won	1,514,000won	1,605,000won	1,830,000won	2,164,000won
Age12~14	629,000won	774,000won	995,000won	1,220,000won	1,386,000won	1,582,000won	1,718,000won	1,876,000won	2,411,000won
Age15~18	678,000won	948,000won	1,205,000won	1,376,000won	1,610,000won	1,821,000won	1,970,000won	2,124,000won	2,664,000won

Note: This table is not absolute. The court only uses it as a reference, and the amount of child support can increase or decrease based on other various factors.

2.4  Adult Children

You can only receive the F-6-2 visa if the children are not yet adults. Once your children reach adulthood, you are eligible to apply for the F-2 visa to stay in Korea with your children. The minimum requirements for this visa are that you have stayed in Korea for at least 5 years to raise the children, that you have fulfilled your duty as a care provider, and that you speak a sufficient level of Korean. If the level of Korean is insufficient, you will only receive a 1-year visa, which is eligible for extension if you improve your Korean. In other cases, you will have to renew your F-2 visa every 3 years.