A street parade of foreign residents in South Korea during an international festival in Seoul’s Itaewon district on Oct. 13, 2018. (image: Yongsan District Office)
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The state human rights watchdog has called on the government to improve the status of residence for foreign single parents who are staying here raising their children of Korean nationality, officials said Tuesday.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) made the recommendation to the justice minister in connection with a petition from a foreign woman who is rearing her Korean child born out of wedlock.
“The commission recommended the justice minister improve the status of stay for the foreign national … so that she can get a stable job and receive social security benefits,” the commission said.
She entered the nation on a language training visa (D-4-1) and gave birth to a child while dating a South Korean man. She did not marry him.
After her visa expired, she requested the immigration office to change her status to marriage immigration (F-6-2).
The agency turned it down, because an F-6-2 visa is given to foreign spouses married to a Korean national. She was instead granted a visa for visiting or joining family (F-1).
She pleaded with the NHRC, claiming she has difficulty in bringing up her child with an F-1 visa that allows economic activities only in limited fields, such as language teaching, and should be renewed every two years.
The NHRC said a F-1 visa is for those seeking to live together with their family and is inappropriate for a single parent.
In addition, it is unreasonable for her to be excluded from various social security systems necessary for raising children, the commission added.
(Yonhap)
