You are probably here because you divorced a Korean spouse, or lost one, and you are wondering what happens to your visa. The short answer: if the marriage ended for a reason that is not your fault, there is a route to keep staying as a marriage-breakdown resident (F-6-3). The spouse's death or disappearance is the typical case, and so are cases where the Korean spouse left home or used violence. But it is not automatic after a divorce. You have to show with documents that the responsibility lies with the other side.
Key points
- The status covers a person who was staying in Korea while married to a Korean national and who can no longer keep a normal marital relationship because the spouse died or disappeared, or for another reason not their fault. The Minister of Justice must recognize it.
- If you currently hold the spouse-of-a-Korean-national status (F-6-1), you apply for an extension of stay. If you hold another status, you apply for a change of status.
- A change of status has restricted groups: short-term stayers, criminal offenders (a simple fine is excluded) and people granted an extension of stay for departure.
- For divorce, the court papers plus evidence of the other side's fault are the core. A change of status is permitted for one year.
1. What counts as "a reason that is not your fault"?
The framework in the law is this: a person who was staying in Korea while married to a Korean national, and who cannot keep a normal marital relationship because the spouse died or disappeared or for another reason that is not their fault, falls under the marriage-breakdown part of F-6.
In practice two points matter. One is whether the couple kept up a normal married life until the break. The other is who bears the main responsibility for the break. For divorce, the examples given are the Korean spouse leaving home, violence and marital discord.
Death means the Korean spouse died of illness, accident or another cause. Disappearance is established only when a family court has issued a declaration of disappearance. Before that declaration, keep in mind that it is not treated as disappearance.
2. Your current status decides which application you file
This is where people get confused most often.
- You now hold F-6-1: you file an extension of stay, not a change. The documents for the first extension differ for death, disappearance and divorce.
- You hold a status other than F-6: you file a change of status to marriage-breakdown resident (F-6-3). The permitted period is one year.
Some people are blocked from a change. Short-term stayers, criminal offenders (people who received only a simple fine are excluded) and people granted an extension of stay for departure are restricted. People who were restricted and then received Other (G-1) status are also excluded.
So be careful with this. If you take an extension of stay for departure "just to prepare to leave", that alone can put you in the restricted group. Decide which application to file first, before you submit anything.
3. If you divorced, how do you show it was not your fault?
For a divorce the documents are the heart of the case. The first filing has three main parts.
- A marriage relation certificate (detailed) showing the divorce
- Divorce litigation papers: complaint, divorce judgment, conciliation record, recommended settlement decision, or the statement of reasons for divorce by agreement
- Evidence of fault: objective material showing that the marriage ended mainly because of the Korean spouse
Examples of such evidence:
- A missing-person report filed by the Korean spouse
- A hospital diagnosis for injuries from assault by the spouse
- A prosecutor's decision not to indict
- A confirmation from a recognized women's organization
- A statement from a relative of the Korean spouse within the fourth degree
- A confirmation from the neighborhood head where you lived when the marriage stopped
It does not mean one item is enough. What matters is gathering material that fits your situation so that a reader can see who caused the break. If you divorced by agreement and have no judgment, the statement of reasons plus the material above has to carry the story.
Add the application form, passport and Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증), a family relation certificate in the child's name if you have a child with your spouse, a foreigner occupation report, and proof of your residence (a lease, an accommodation confirmation, a utility receipt and so on). For a change of status you also need a criminal record certificate and a health certificate. Both are exempt if you submitted them before and have not stayed abroad continuously for six months or more.
Fault on your side does not close every door. Even if the divorce was due to the foreigner's fault, if that person supports the Korean spouse's parents or family, the office confirms the facts, collects documents proving the support, and may grant F-6-3 within a one-year range.
4. Death or disappearance
If the spouse died, the core is a death certificate or a basic certificate that records the death. Family relation documents such as a marriage relation certificate go with it. If the couple has a child, add a family relation certificate in the child's name.
Disappearance requires the family court's decision declaring disappearance. Before that decision, see section 5 below.
The attachment rules in the regulation point the same way: documents proving the death or disappearance, or other documents showing that the marriage broke down without fault on your part.
5. If the divorce is not final yet
Many people are separated or in litigation while their stay period is about to end. If you hold F-6-1, you can apply for an extension of stay in these cases.
- You are separated from your spouse. Separation means the formal marriage continues but the couple has not lived together for a long period; commuter marriages do not count.
- A divorce lawsuit is under way. This includes people preparing to sue and people in a subsequent-completion appeal.
- Your spouse is missing but no declaration of disappearance has been issued yet.
The reason for separation can be shown with the Korean spouse's missing-person report, a diagnosis or photo evidence of injuries, a confirmation of admission to a domestic violence shelter, a criminal judgment, statements from neighbors, or a confirmation from a recognized women's organization. If the spouse is in prison, a certificate of confinement is required. For a divorce lawsuit, you submit a document such as a certificate of filing.
6. How long can you stay after approval?
A change of status to F-6-3 is granted for one year. Later, a person staying as F-6-3 applies for an extension of stay with the application, passport, Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증), a family relation certificate in the child's name if there is a child, a foreigner occupation report and proof of residence. The upper limit of one grant of stay under F-6 is three years.
An extension must be filed before the stay period ends. Once the date passes you are no longer extending but in violation, and filing late does not cure that.
7. If "not my fault" is hard to show, or there is a child
Not every divorce leads to F-6-3. There are other routes.
- Housekeeping and affairs settlement (F-1-6): for people whose marriage ended but who do not fall under F-6-3, and who must stay in Korea to divide property and settle affairs. The office looks at whether the marriage was normal before the break and whether staying is unavoidable. The period is within six months, up to one year from the date of the change.
- Parent raising a child (F-6-2): a parent who is raising in Korea a minor child born within a marriage to a Korean national. Documents showing continuing child care are needed.
- Visitation rights: if you hold visitation rights to the child after the marriage ended, F-6-2 may be granted for up to one year. If visitation has been restricted or excluded, or you have no contact with the child, it is denied.
For permanent residence (F-5) in the long run, a person whose normal marriage could not continue because of a Korean spouse's death or disappearance or another reason not their fault must have stayed continuously in Korea under F-6 for at least two years. You then need documents showing the married life and proving the Korean ex-spouse's fault, and there are separate requirements on conduct, ability to support oneself and basic knowledge.
8. Check these in order before applying
- Confirm whether you are F-6-1 or another status. That decides extension versus change.
- Write down your stay expiry date first. An extension has to be filed before it.
- Check whether you fall in a restricted group (short-term stayer, criminal offender, extension of stay for departure and so on).
- Gather documents by reason: court papers and evidence of fault for divorce, the relevant certificates for death or disappearance.
- If proving the other side's fault is hard, also weigh the housekeeping settlement and child-raising routes.
9. What Sunshine Administrative Agent Office (선샤인행정사사무소) can do
We prepare and submit applications for extension of stay and change of status, draft written statements and opinions explaining the circumstances of the breakdown, and organize and translate supporting documents. Representing or defending you in divorce litigation or in a criminal investigation or trial is not the work of an administrative agent, so we do not take it on.
Consultation hours are weekdays 09:30~17:30. Call 02-309-3107 or write to [email protected] with your expiry date and the documents you now hold.