What happens to my visa after divorce in Korea?

What Korean law says

Article 24(1): a foreign national in Korea who wishes to engage in activities corresponding to a residence status different from the one they hold must obtain permission for a change of residence status from the Minister of Justice in advance. Paragraph 2 sets a 30-day period only for people who are exempt from alien registration under Article 31(1), such as staff of foreign diplomatic missions and international organisations, whose status changes. It does not create a general 30-day window after a divorce; for most marriage-based residents the relevant time limit is the expiry of the stay already permitted. Paragraph 3 leaves the review criteria to ministerial ordinance.

Article 25-2(1): where a foreign national in one of the listed categories applies for an extension of stay, the Minister of Justice may grant the extension until the relevant remedy proceedings conclude. The categories are: a foreign spouse of a Korean national where court proceedings, an investigation or another statutory remedy process is under way on the ground of domestic violence; a foreign national where the same is under way on the ground of a sexual offence; a foreign child and their protector where the same is under way on the ground of a child abuse offence; and a victim of trafficking where the same is under way.

Article 25-2(2): the Minister may grant a further extension after that period expires where it is considered necessary for recovery from the harm and similar reasons.

Immigration Control Act, Articles 24, 25 and 25-2. Act No. 20992, in force from 23 January 2026. Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act, Annex 1-2, item 27 (marriage migrant, F-6), Presidential Decree No. 36673, in force from 15 September 2026. Supreme Court, 4 July 2019, 2018Du66869. Whether marriage-based status can be kept after a divorce is decided on the individual facts; ministerial-ordinance review criteria are not set out on this page and should be confirmed for your case.

What usually happens in practice

The single most damaging assumption is that there is time. Residence status is tied to a permission with an expiry date, and the divorce does not pause that date. The work has to start while the current permission still has life in it, because an application made from an expired position is a much weaker application.

The second point is that how the marriage ended matters to the decision, not only that it ended. Two facts carry particular weight, and both are proved with documents rather than asserted.

The first is responsibility for the breakdown. The foreign spouse does not have to be entirely blameless: the Supreme Court has held that it is enough that the main responsibility lies with the Korean spouse (Supreme Court, 4 July 2019, 2018Du66869). A mediated divorce, or an agreement to pay compensation, does not by itself settle who was mainly responsible; the wording of the mediation record, how the marriage actually broke down and the evidence behind it still have to be examined.

The second is a child of the marriage whom you are raising. The Enforcement Decree describes this route as a parent raising a child born of the marriage and does not itself use the word “minor”. In the Ministry of Justice guidance and the court decisions reviewed for this page, the route has been applied to parents of minor children, and that review did not find a decision granting it on the basis of an adult child.

Article 25-2 is narrower than it first looks but stronger than people expect within its scope. It is tied to an actual proceeding being under way. If you are in that situation, the existence of the case is itself relevant to your stay, which is a reason to report rather than to endure quietly.

What you should do next

• Check your current permission expiry the week the divorce becomes real, not later.
• Apply before expiry. Article 24 requires permission in advance, not after the fact.
• Document why the marriage ended. If you are raising a child of the marriage, keep evidence of your actual role: where the child lives and whether you live together, regular contact or visitation, payments of child support or living expenses, and anything else that shows your involvement in the child’s upbringing, such as school or medical records.
• If violence or abuse is part of the history and a case is running, raise it. Article 25-2 exists for exactly that.

Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 16 September 2026.