Russians apply for refugee visas to South Korea
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In 2023, a record number of Russians sought asylum in South Korea. According to the country’s immigration service, more than 5.5 thousand citizens sent such a request. Moreover, in 2022 there were five times fewer such applications. Now in Telegram channels you can find services for obtaining a refugee visa to Korea; consultants promise to fill out a questionnaire and create an individual history that meets the requirements of the Geneva Convention.
Is the failure rate high? And what other ways are available to Russians to relocate to the country? Director of international programs at the Euroresident immigration and visa agency, Sofya Defosse-Aksyutina, says that many people choose a refugee visa because the procedure for obtaining it is simple: “The increase in the number of requests from citizens of the Russian Federation is a common trend; there are now many more such applications more from our compatriots from other countries. This is due to the fact that this is the most inexpensive procedure for legally extending your residence in a country, including South Korea.
Since this country is quite attractive, highly developed, with a high standard of living, it, of course, attracts a certain number of people who want to live there, but who have no other opportunity to be there legally. For example, there is no Korean origin or employment contract with an employer who could sponsor or apply for a residence permit with the right to work.
Currently, Russian citizens do not require a visa to enter South Korea; it is provided on the spot upon arrival, so entering the country is quite simple. Next, you need to explain why you are requesting asylum. The applicant, since the processing time is quite long, gets the opportunity to stay in the country legally. But given the huge number of applicants, the procedure may take one to two years.”
South Korea is reluctant to accept refugees. Typically, authorities approve no more than 1.5% of such applications. According to the Statista service, in 2021 the authorities granted a little more than 70 requests, and more than 2 thousand people submitted them. You can also move to Korea through real estate investment. You will have to spend more than $400 thousand on this, and you can only choose an object in projects approved by the state.
However, Russians are not very interested in such programs, noted Prian.ru editor-in-chief Philip Berezin: “South Korea, by and large, has never been a promising and widespread destination, and nothing much has changed over the past year. That is, as a percentage, the result may be jumpy, but since we initially started from isolated cases, now there are no noticeable changes.
South Korea is a country where people buy real estate after they have already arrived there, because no one offers anything on the domestic Russian market. Strictly speaking, this is not interesting, the volumes are not the same, and yet this is a very specific country, some additional conditions are so unusual and incomprehensible that for the money you can choose a program that is closer and, accordingly, simpler.”
Last year, Russians sought asylum in South Korea more often than citizens of other countries. Kazakhstan, China, Malaysia and India are also in the top five by the number of requests.
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