Seok Won-jeong, director of the Association for Migrant Workers’ Human Rights, speaks during a press conference calling for an extension of stay for parents of migrant youth raised in Korea, in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Jung District, central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ung
For nearly two decades, she built a life in Korea, raising five children as a single mother. Now, the Korean government says her time has run out — simply because her youngest child has grown up.
The 56-year-old Nigerian woman, whose identity has been withheld for her protection, is the latest face of a rigid immigration rule in Korea. Under current policy, undocumented migrant parents are granted a precarious legal reprieve only as long as their children are minors. Once those children turn 19 or graduate from high school, the protection dissolves, often forcing parents into a devastating choice: leave their families behind or face deportation.
On Wednesday, a coalition of advocacy groups, including the Association for Migrant Workers’ Human Rights, filed a formal complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK). They are urging a revision of the Immigration Act, which currently lacks specific residency protections for the families of migrant youth raised in the country. Without such reforms, advocates say, the Ministry of Justice’s temporary measures remain a "ticking clock" that prioritizes bureaucratic deadlines over family unity.
The current Immigration Act contains no separate provisions governing the residency of migrant children and their parents, leaving the Justice Ministry’s temporary measures as the only recourse.
In 2019, the Nigerian woman’s older son, then 23, was detained in an immigration crackdown while working at a factory. He later sued to overturn his deportation order — and won.
In 2021, the Justice Ministry introduced a policy — following recommendations from the NHRCK and calls from rights groups — to grant conditional legal status to undocumented children born and raised in Korea.
The following year, the ministry eased the criteria after criticism that the eligibility rules were too strict. The original policy limited relief to children born in Korea who had lived here for at least 15 years and were enrolled in middle or high school or had already graduated.
Under the justice ministry’s latest plan, announced in April last year and open for applications through March 2028, eligible youth fall into two categories.
The first covers those born in Korea or who entered before age 6. They must have lived in the country for at least six years and be enrolled in elementary, middle or high school, or have graduated from high school when applying.
Source: Korea Times News
