South Korea govt decides to extend visa term of all migrant workers by a year

KATHMANDU : The South Korean government has announced to extend the visa term of all the migrant workers, including Nepalis, working in South Korea by one year.

The Ministry of Justice of South Korea stated that the new regulation has already been passed. Following the decision, the migrant workers whose visa term had expired and who could not return to their home countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, can get their visa term extended for one year starting April 13.

President of Migrants Trade Union (MTU), Udaya Rai said the visa term of workers whose term is set to expire in coming December would be extended by a year along with those who reached there with four years and 10 months long term.

With this extension, the total stay of both categories of workers in South Korea would be five years and 10 months. According to Rai, no foreign migrant worker has entered South Korea for the past 13 months.

Although some workers from Cambodia had come here after the outbreak of the COVID-19, no workers from other countries were  allowed to enter South Korea.

It is said the South Korean government introduced this rule in order to fulfill the shortage of workers and provide relief to the workers who were unable to return to their home country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.