Based on gender equality and maintenance of family life, the NHRCK decided that it is not constitutional to mandate marriage migrants to present their spouse’s personal reference documents in order to extend their stay in Korea, and for this reason, on September, 2011, the NHRCK pronounced its opinion to the Minister of Justice to abolish such provision from the ‘Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act.’
Following this event, on Dec. 23, 2011, the Ministry of Justice notified that it deleted the aforementioned provision from the ‘Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act.’
Until recently, in order for the marriage migrants to get permission for extending their length of stay in Korea, they had to prove “Continuance of Marriage Status” and therefore had to submit personal documents such as Status of Family, Resident Registration, and even their spouses’ personal reference documents to the immigration office.
This form of regulation violates equal rights of married-couple. This regulation may put marriage migrants into an unstable immigrant status if they escape from family violence, since their spouses may refuse to submit their personal reference for marriage migrants. Even worse, in certain cases, marriage migrants choose to bear violence and unjust treatment for the fear of their spouses’ refusal to provide their personal references.
The NHRCK enthusiastically welcomes this decision of the Ministry of Justice for it has promoted human rights of marriage migrants.
