Korean Court Overturns Immigration’s Deportation Order

The Administrative Court in Incheon, Korea ruled in June of 2010 that a Chinese woman suspected of marrying a Korean national for the right to gain a Korean residency card (F-2-2 Visa) is not allowed to be deported on the sole grounds that both her former and present husbands were convicted of being involved in marriage fraud and the previous marriage ended only two months before the current marriage.

The Chinese woman entered Korea with her previous Korean husband in 2006. The couple was divorced in 2008. The woman, then, married another Korean man, only two months after the divorce. Both the present and past husbands’ had been convicted of marriage fraud.

The Court ruled that the evidence of previous and present husbands’ involvement in “sham marriages,” and a new marriage closely preceding a previous marriage are not adequate grounds, in of themselves, to deport.

The Court also noted that the woman was living with the present husband, had a miscarriage during the time of the present marriage, had frequent contact with the husband’s family, and statements affirming the marriage by neighbors were all signs of a legitimate marriage.

The case was warmly welcomed by many NGO and attorneys interested in pro bono initiatives because of the case’s outcome being one of many signs that Korean courts are increasingly willing to protect the rights of vulnerable foreign migrant workers.

For additional information on pro bono initiatives of the IPG Legal, please contact Sean Hayes.

_____
SeanHayes@ipglegal.com