F-6 Visa After Divorce or Separation in Korea: Your Options

Korea's F-6 (결혼이민 / Marriage Immigration) visa has three official subtypes:

F-6-1 (National's Spouse): For foreign nationals in a valid, continuing marriage to a Korean citizen. Both countries must recognize the marriage as valid. This is the standard 'married' subtype.

F-6-2 (Parent of Korean Minor Child): For a foreign parent who is no longer in a marriage to a Korean national but is raising — or intends to raise — a minor child born of that relationship (including children born of a de facto marriage / 사실혼). The parent does not need to be currently married to or to have custody awarded by a court — they must demonstrate they are raising or will raise the Korean minor child inside Korea.

F-6-3 (Involuntary Dissolution): For a foreign national who was married to a Korean citizen, was legally staying in Korea under that marriage, but the marriage ended or became impossible to continue through no fault of their own — for example, because of the Korean spouse's death, disappearance (실종), serious illness or disability preventing cohabitation, or documented domestic violence or abuse.

F-6-2 is specifically designed for the situation where a marriage has ended but children of the relationship remain. To qualify:

• You must be the parent (부 or 모) of a minor child born of the marriage or de facto marriage with a Korean national
• The child must be a minor
• You must be raising or intending to raise the child inside Korea

F-6-2 allows you to remain in Korea even after divorce, and it carries the same no-work-restriction benefit as other F-6 subtypes — you can work freely. The key evidence requirement is proof of your parental relationship with the Korean child (family relationship certificate / 가족관계증명서) and evidence that you are raising the child in Korea.

Court-awarded custody is not required — even de facto parenting can qualify, though custody documentation helps. If you are the non-custodial parent trying to visit your Korean child, F-6-2 is typically not available; you would apply under (Family Visitor) instead.

F-6-3 applies when you remain married (or were recently married) to a Korean national but cannot maintain the marriage due to circumstances beyond your control:

Qualifying situations:

• Korean spouse passed away
• Korean spouse was declared missing (실종 선고)
• Korean spouse suffers from a severe illness or disability making cohabitation impossible
• The marriage broke down due to the Korean spouse's fault — including domestic violence, abuse, adultery, or desertion

Not qualifying:

• The marriage ended because of your own fault
• You simply decided to divorce

For F-6-3 applications based on domestic violence or abuse, immigration accepts police reports, hospital records, court injunction orders, shelter records, and NGO support letters as evidence. Immigration officers are instructed to take a sympathetic approach to genuine domestic violence situations.

F-6-3 status still allows you to work freely. The stay period is typically 1 year at a time, renewable.

For the initial (F-6-1) visa, the Korean spouse must demonstrate sufficient income to support the household. As of 2026, the income threshold is based on the national median income standard (기준 중위소득):

• 2-person household: approx. KRW 2.4M/month (verify current figure at HiKorea)
• 3-person household: approx. KRW 3.1M/month
• The threshold increases per additional household member

For F-6-2 and F-6-3, the income requirement for the Korean sponsor no longer applies in the same way — because there may be no Korean sponsor. In these cases, immigration evaluates the foreign national's own ability to maintain themselves financially in Korea, or relies on other family support.

Income requirement exemptions for F-6-1 exist when: (1) the couple has a child together; (2) the couple lived abroad together for 1+ year; or (3) the foreign spouse has previously held status with the same Korean national without interruption.

If you divorce your Korean spouse after entering Korea on F-6-1, your F-6-1 status becomes untenable because the qualifying condition (valid ongoing marriage) no longer exists. You have several options:

1. Apply for F-6-2 if you have a minor Korean child you are raising
2. Apply for F-6-3 if the divorce was due to the Korean spouse's fault or other involuntary circumstances
3. Apply for another long-term visa if you independently qualify — e.g., job seeker, work visa, points-based, or overseas Korean
4. Depart Korea if none of the above apply

Do not simply remain in Korea after divorce while your F-6-1 status is still technically valid. Your status should be adjusted to reflect your actual situation. Deliberately misrepresenting your marital status to maintain F-6-1 is a fraud that leads to deportation and an entry ban.

One important restriction in the residency manual: foreign nationals who entered Korea on a Working Holiday visa () cannot apply to change status to (Marriage Immigration) inside Korea. If you met your Korean partner while on a Working Holiday visa and wish to get married, you must depart Korea and apply for the F-6 visa at a Korean consulate in your home country with your marriage documentation.

As a general rule, people who entered Korea on a short-stay visa (, , through ) cannot change to inside Korea — they must depart and apply at a Korean consulate abroad. Exceptions are limited to:

• Pregnant or post-delivery situations
• Cases where there is a child of the marriage
• Exceptional humanitarian circumstances at immigration's discretion

The notable exception: German nationals who entered on (visa waiver treaty) can apply for status changes inside Korea, due to the specific terms of Korea's bilateral treaty with Germany.