For Americans this news will not apply because the U.S. does not have a travel ban in place on South Korea. It will apply to a total of 88 countries which include Canada and Australia:
This photo captures an almost empty arrival gate at Jeju International Airport on South Korea’s southernmost island of Jeju on Feb. 5, 2020, amid the coronavirus outbreak. (Yonhap)
The government plans to bring into force a decision to temporarily suspend visa exemptions for countries imposing entry bans on South Koreans at an early date, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday.
South Korea announced earlier that it will halt visa-free entry and visa waiver programs for countries that have barred the entry of South Koreans over coronavirus concerns, a move aimed at curbing the rise in imported cases that has emerged as a key factor behind the continuing virus outbreak.
Instead of a foreign spouse learning how to speak Korean, now the Korean spouse can also learn to speak their partner’s language for a visa:
A foreigner applying for a spousal visa in South Korea will have a higher chance if the Korean spouse learns his or her native language, the Ministry of Justice said Monday.
The ministry has eased the assessment criteria for a foreigner’s spousal visa application if his or her Korean partner takes classes in the spouse’s native language for more than three months, or passes a proficiency test in that language, it said in a statement.
Until now, the foreign spouse had to obtain a Korean proficiency test certificate or take Korean lessons for over 120 hours to be eligible for the visa. [Korea Times]
