Home > National > Social Affairs

With visa program set to expire, Gyeonggi asks Justice Ministry to let foreign children stay

Published: 21 Feb. 2025, 16:29

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

A newborn grips their mother's hand at a hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on July 11, 2024. [YONHAP]

Gyeonggi has requested that the Korean government continue granting temporary visas to non-Korean children who were born in the country.

The Gyeonggi provincial government said Friday that it has asked the Justice Ministry to extend a program that grants extendable six-month D-4 or G-1 visas to foreign children who were born in Korea or entered the country before the age of six with at least six years of residency, as well as those who entered at six or older with at least seven years of residency, which is set to expire on March 31.

To qualify, children must also be attending an elementary, middle or high school or have graduated from high school in Korea.

Parents of eligible children may also remain in Korea with their children until they reach legal adulthood at age 19.

The program was initially launched in April 2021, with eligibility limited to high school graduates as well as middle and high school students who were born in Korea and have lived here for more than 15 years. The requirements were relaxed in February 2022 to allow more children to qualify for stay permits.

Gyeonggi is the first locality to request the extension.

The provincial government estimates that around 20,000 foreign children will benefit from the program extension, a figure multiple organizations have backed up. Of these, around 6,000 reside in Gyeonggi, according to the provincial government.

The province also requested that the Justice Ministry draw up “fundamental” measures addressing these issues, in accordance with Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states, “State Parties recognize the right of children to education.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]