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| Ministry of Justice recently proposed rule changes for the F-2-7- visa which is drawing outcries from expats in Korea. Korea Times file |
By Kim Se-jeong
Jennifer Strout is an English teacher in Korea and has been working to found a nonprofit school for low-income families.
She said her hopes are to contribute to the community which she now calls home and to become a Korean citizen in the future.
Yet, her plan is likely to become a distant dream with the Ministry of Justice's recent proposal for rule changes for the F-2-7 visa. The changes are not yet final as the government is still collecting opinions. Yet, Strout, along with many expats in Korea, are worried that the proposal would cut short their time in Korea.
According to the proposal, the visa which is run on a points system would allocate the most points to annual income. For example, under the current system, 10 points are allocated for those who earn 100 million won or more, but that will change to 60 points.
Age, education level and Korean language proficiency are other criteria, and the points allocated for each would also be redistributed so that more points could be allocated to people with money.
For Strout, she has to get at least 30 million won per year until next May to get her visa renewed and because of the struggling economy due to the coronavirus pandemic, she will have to find more ways to satisfy their criteria.
Because of her voluntary work, her present job, and struggling to make a living during the pandemic crisis, this maybe more difficult to achieve, while for other F-2-7 visa holders, it would be next to impossible.
"I don't understand why they are making the changes to the laws now unless they genuinely don't want me here anymore. Is it always about the money? I only recently got my F-2-7 visa and I was going to use this visa to help build my business so I could switch to an F-5 visa and then eventually get my citizenship," Strout said.
She questions the government's intention for pushing for the change in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Why are they making these proposals in the midst of a pandemic where no one is making hardly enough money to survive, whether Korean or foreigner, unless they just wanted to get rid of us without a second thought?" she asked.
The proposed changes aren't only about money and that would also shatter the dream of Samsuzzaman.
Working as a machine operator at a car manufacturing company in North Jeolla Province, he is currently on an E-7-4 visa granted to skilled workers.
He is suffering long working hours ― more than 52 hours per week ― insufficient money and no time off to visit his family back in Bangladesh.
Changing employers would not be an option, let alone that he doesn't have time to look for one, because that would require him to apply for a visa again.
So, what he's been hoping for is to earn an F-2-7 that would give him the chance to change his job when he wants.
But under the proposed visa rules, he would no longer be eligible to apply for the visa.
"I wanted to live in Korea for a long time, not only for money, but for a secured life," he said. "We are working, living here, paying taxes and obeying laws, but the new F-2-7 system is very very disappointing news for me."
Currently, the number of F-2-7 visa holders are a little more than 6,000.
The Ministry of Justice couldn't be reached for comment, but the South China Morning Post based in Hong Kong quoted the ministry's spokesperson as saying that the change is to "give more advantages to expats in the superior talent pool while decreasing the number of expats who are not in this pool."
While many voiced criticism and concerns, licensed immigration specialist Jang Man-ik who runs the consulting agency Visa in Korea said there's a reason to be hopeful.
"I've never seen the justice ministry openly collecting opinions from foreigners about upcoming changes. It shows they're trying to communicate with the expat community," Jang said, adding expats can hope for the proposed changes to be delayed for some time.
Opinion can be sent to jikim433@korea.kr and the last day for the opinion collection is Friday.
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