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June 23, 2009
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| Foreigners married to Koreans who wish to apply for citizenship will have to undergo a more stringent vetting process, according to the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday. As the number of international marriages continues to rise, the government is also planning to boost aid to multi-cultural families. The government said it wanted to prevent what it called “indiscriminate acquisition of Korean nationality” by scrutinizing the qualifications of those applying for naturalization, including permanent residency. The matter was discussed at a state policy adjustment meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Seung-soo. Foreign spouses of Korean citizens currently don’t have to provide any extra documentation if they apply for naturalization. Under the new measures proposed by the government, they will have to spend a certain period of time after acquiring a permanent residency visa through marriage before applying for naturalization, which in Korea requires the renunciation of other any other citizenship. The United States and Germany operate similar systems. “It is crucial that Korea steps up the verification process for foreigners marrying Koreans since the number of immigrants here through international marriage has been exploding lately,” said a Prime Minister’s Office spokesman. Under the proposals, the government will make it mandatory for foreigners marrying Koreans to submit medical checkup results and criminal background checks. The Justice Ministry said it will map regulations and revisions by the end of this year. The year of enforcement has not been decided yet. According to the National Statistical Office, the number of households with a Korean married to a foreigner stood at 36,204 last year. That’s 11 percent of all marriages. One major explanation for the rise is the shortage of wives for Korean men in rural areas of the country. Bachelors in agricultural and fishing villages here have been increasingly looking for spouses in China and Southeastern Asian countries, in many cases through matchmaking agencies. What’s worrying the government is some people are using marriage to Korean citizens to obtain the right to reside here and set up businesses. Meanwhile, at the same meeting provided over by Prime Minister Han, a series of measures to support multinational families were confirmed, such as Korean language support for children in areas with a high number of multicultural families and job training for foreign spouses. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] |
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