Practice Areas
Immigration and residence solutionsbefore and after an official decision
Starting from the document you received and your current status of stay, we anticipate what may follow and design the order of your administrative response.
STEP 1
Detailed review of your situation and official documents
We establish your exact legal position from the name of the notice you received, the date of the decision, and your current status of stay.
STEP 2
Forecasting consequences and risk
We examine from every angle how an immigration investigation or a visa denial may affect your future stay, a departure order, an entry ban, and re-entry.
STEP 3
Building the response strategy and its order
To keep any disadvantage to a minimum, we prepare the evidence required at each administrative stage and set out the order of response.
Urgent relief & response
Immediately after an investigation or a decision notice: golden-hour response to minimize the damage
From the first contact or notice from the immigration office through detention at an immigration facility, deportation and entry bans, and on to the prospect of re-entry, we treat the matter as one connected chain. We first establish the exact name of the decision, the date of notice, your current status of stay, and whether you are held at an immigration facility, and build the most effective response from there.
01When You Receive a Summons from Immigration
From the moment a summons or investigation notice arrives, organizing the facts and your residence history accurately is the key to resolving the case.
01Check if this is your situation
- Summons, investigation notices and statement materials
- Overstay, unauthorized activities and workplace violations
- Penalty dispositions and their effect on continued stay
- Effect of criminal cases and fines on immigration screening
02Key issues
An investigation may lead to a penalty disposition, departure order or deportation review. We organize the notice received, facts to be explained, immigration and employment history, and favorable or adverse circumstances in chronological order, then prepare supporting materials for the administrative stage.
03Decisions that may followAn immigration investigation rarely ends there: it can lead to a departure recommendation, a departure order, deportation, or an entry ban. From the outset we analyze the likely follow-up procedures and connected matters and prepare thoroughly.
02Deportation, Departure Orders, and Detention
If you have received a departure order or are held at an immigration detention center, a fast legal review within the first critical hours is essential.
01Check if this is your situation
- Departure recommendations, orders and applicable deadlines
- Deportation objection documents and reasons to remain
- Objections to immigration detention and temporary release
- Family unity, illness, accident and humanitarian factors
02Key issues
Departure recommendations, departure orders and deportation orders have different effects and procedures. We identify the document and service date, examine family, medical and other humanitarian circumstances, and distinguish available administrative steps such as objection documents, special permission to stay, objections to detention and temporary release.
03Decisions that may followAfter a departure disposition, the departure deadline, temporary release from detention, and any entry ban are closely linked. Where an administrative appeal, litigation, or a stay of execution is required, we work with partner attorneys-at-law to deliver a fast and precise solution.
03Confirming an Entry Ban or Refusal, and Preparing to Return (Visa Issuance)
A procedure for cases where entry to Korea is restricted because of a past departure order, deportation, overstay, or other violation.
01Check if this is your situation
- Entry bans following deportation or a departure order
- Repeated visa refusals and airport entry denial
- Alias passports and inconsistent identity records
- Reviewing current status and re-entry options where a past application involved errors, broker involvement, or related harm
02Key issues
An entry ban or repeated visa refusal may depend on a past disposition, the circumstances of departure, family in Korea and the present purpose of entry. Even when the applicant is abroad, we collect records with the family in Korea and review the sequence of restriction confirmation, a lifting request and a visa application.
03Decisions that may followThe expiry of an entry ban does not by itself guarantee that a visa will be issued or that you may enter. We first confirm the entry-regulation record and whether it has been lifted under the Immigration Act, then review step by step the legal requirements of the visa you intend to apply for, your family ties in Korea, and any humanitarian grounds.
04Understanding a Status, Residency, or Naturalization Denial —
If an extension or change of status, permanent residency (F-5), or naturalization has been denied, precise analysis of the reasons and prompt follow-up are urgent.
01Check if this is your situation
- Denial of extension or change of status
- Permanent residence (F-5) denial and supplemental evidence
- Naturalization denial and preparation for reapplication
- Information-disclosure requests to identify the basis
02Key issues
Rather than repeating the same application, we review the refusal notice, disclosed records, and prior immigration, criminal, tax and family history. We separate facts that can be supplemented from fixed barriers and assess reapplication together with departure and stay deadlines.
03Decisions that may followIf you miss your permitted stay after a denial, the matter can escalate into unlawful stay and an immigration violation review. personally handles the detailed analysis of the grounds and the administrative appeal or re-application, and where court litigation support is needed, works with partner attorneys-at-law to present the best available remedy.
Stay & life continuity
Planning to continue your life in Korea
Family, employment, study, health and prior immigration history rarely fit into a single visa issue. We address the immediate risk while examining the path toward long-term stay, permanent residence and nationality.
05Refugee & Humanitarian Stay
Reflecting persecution risk, illness, childbirth, accident or other barriers to departure in an immigration procedure
01Check if this is your situation
- Facts and country-condition evidence for refugee recognition
- Objection documents after refugee non-recognition
- Humanitarian stay involving pregnancy, illness or accident
- Status during industrial-injury treatment or victim proceedings
02Key issues
Refugee and humanitarian stay cases require careful review of each person's circumstances and supporting materials — risk of persecution, health, childbirth, accidents, or crime victimization. We prepare refugee applications and non-recognition objections, and where a past application involved errors or broker involvement, we review what happened and your current status to identify possible next procedures.
03Decisions that may followWe coordinate refugee litigation, criminal victim claims and labor matters with attorneys or labor professionals while managing the connected immigration status.
06Family Changes & Immigration Status
Marriage-immigrant cases affected by divorce, separation, a spouse's death or child care
01Check if this is your situation
- F-6 status after divorce or separation
- Parenting or contact with a Korean child and continued stay
- Spouse's death, domestic violence and changed family circumstances
- Inviting spouses, minor children or parents for family unity
02Key issues
Marriage-based stay can depend on the cause of marital breakdown, care and contact with a child, a spouse's death and the applicant's life in Korea. We organize marriage, birth and parenting records with immigration history to review extension, change of status or family invitation procedures.
03Decisions that may followWhen divorce, custody or domestic-violence representation is needed, we coordinate with an attorney and assess how the outcome affects immigration status.
07Adoption of a Foreign Minor Child: Residence and Nationality, End to End
Adopting a foreign minor child means following each step precisely — from the sending country’s adoption approval under international adoption law, to the Korean family court’s permission, the child’s change of status of stay, and finally nationality.
01Check if this is your situation
- Family court adoption permission and international adoption documents
- Change of the adopted child’s status of stay and settlement in Korea
- Special or simplified naturalization requirements by age and form of adoption
- After acquisition: renouncing the foreign nationality or pledging not to exercise it, and updating the family register
02Key issues
Adoption of a foreign minor child is governed by both the child’s national law and Korean law. Because the applicable route — special or simplified naturalization — depends on the age at adoption, the form of adoption, residence in Korea, and other statutory requirements, we confirm for each case the order of family court permission, change of status, and the nationality report.
03Decisions that may followFrom the birth parents’ consent and clearing the child’s status in the home country to securing stable residence in Korea and special naturalization, we analyze in advance every immigration and administrative variable that can arise, so the child settles securely as your legal child.
08Birth Registration, Acknowledgment, and Nationality for a Child Born Outside Marriage
For a child born outside marriage, nationality begins with an accurate birth registration and a valid acknowledgment of paternity.
01Check if this is your situation
- Birth registration for a child born outside marriage to a father who was a Korean national at the time of birth
- Voluntary or court-ordered acknowledgment and confirmation of parentage, including DNA testing
- Reviewing the requirements for a nationality acquisition report for an acknowledged minor child (Nationality Act, Art. 3)
- Grant or change of the child’s status of stay and updating the family register
02Key issues
A minor child who is not currently a Korean national, born outside marriage to a father who was a Korean national at the time of birth and a foreign mother, may acquire Korean nationality by filing a report under Article 3 of the Nationality Act after legal acknowledgment by the father. A child born to a Korean mother generally acquires Korean nationality at birth, so the birth-registration and family-register route must be reviewed separately.
03Decisions that may followFrom birth registration and acknowledgment for a child born outside marriage to a foreign partner, through confirmation of parentage, the grant of a status of stay, and the nationality report based on acknowledgment, we provide one-stop administrative guidance so the child can remain in Korea securely and under legal protection.
09Employment or Study Interruption & Status Risk
Cases where job loss, workplace issues, industrial injury or loss of enrollment destabilizes immigration status
01Check if this is your situation
- Workplace changes and status after resignation or dismissal
- Investigation of unreported workplace changes or unauthorized work
- Status continuity during wage or industrial-injury matters
- Status after dismissal from school or low attendance
02Key issues
A workplace or school change can quickly create reporting duties, unauthorized-activity concerns, loss of status and departure deadlines. We review employment or academic records, possible violations and the next purpose of stay to identify reports, status changes and supporting explanations.
03Decisions that may followWe coordinate the underlying labor or compensation dispute with a labor attorney or attorney while managing immigration reports and continued stay.
10Long-term Stay, Permanent Residence & Nationality
Planning beyond the next extension by identifying risks at the permanent-residence and nationality stages
01Check if this is your situation
- Requirements for residence (F-2) and permanent residence (F-5)
- General, simplified and special naturalization
- Nationality recovery, selection, renunciation and loss reports
- Effect of prior violations, criminal and tax records
02Key issues
Long-term residence, permanent residence and naturalization may be affected not only by income, residence and family but also by prior immigration violations, criminal dispositions, tax and travel records. We map possible routes from the current status and prepare evidence in the appropriate sequence.
03Decisions that may followCurrent status changes, family circumstances and prior refusals or violations all feed into later review, so the entire route is examined rather than treating each filing in isolation.
General administrative and immigration services
From complex, high-difficulty cases to everyday immigration procedures, we work with you through deep expertise and hands-on experience.
The field experience gathered from resolving difficult cases is what makes routine procedures run flawlessly. From basic applications and reports to the final step, we handle each one carefully and accurately.
- International marriage procedures and F-6 marriage-visa sponsorship documents
- Administrative decisions and administrative appeals
- Invitation letters and Confirmation of Visa Issuance
- Administrative appeals against drink-driving penalties
- Permanent residency (F-5), general, simplified, and special naturalization
- Unfair dismissal, unpaid wages, severance pay, and related matters
How a case proceeds
We do not make empty promises.We map a clear path from objective facts and legal grounds.
The steps below are the common flow for every practice area. Area-specific details are explained after we review your document and the facts.
- STEP 01
Intake and initial consultation
- STEP 02
Detailed legal analysis
- STEP 03
Tailored strategy
- STEP 04
Formal engagement and start of work
- STEP 05
Securing grounds and records
- STEP 06
Progress updates and follow-up
Basic documents to prepare
These are the essential documents needed first, so we can establish your situation and begin the legal analysis.
Identity documents
- Passport, original and copy
- Alien registration card, original and copy
- A certified copy of the Korean spouse’s or related party’s resident registration record and a family relation certificate (if applicable)
Documents about your situation
- Notices, guidance letters, summonses, and decision notices received from immigration or other public offices
- Notices from the police or prosecution, a copy of the suspect interrogation record, and any decision to suspend prosecution (기소유예), fine, or judgment (where a criminal case is involved)
Frequently asked questions
How much does a consultation cost?
Consultations are KRW 100,000 per 30 minutes. Submitting a case review request costs nothing, and you decide whether to proceed to a consultation after receiving our reply.
Can you guarantee the outcome?
No one can guarantee an agency's decision. Instead, we clearly explain the verified facts, the available procedures, and their limits.
Can I consult even if my Korean is limited?
The same information is provided in six languages, and how each language is supported is described on the About page.
Service scope
Administrative legal procedures are handled by directly; criminal matters are covered one-stop with vetted attorneys-at-law.
reviews the facts and administrative procedures in immigration and nationality matters, as well as non-contentious matters involving foreign nationals, and provides professional support in drafting and filing applications, statements, supporting evidence, and administrative appeals including requests for a stay of execution.
Where litigation, criminal defence, family proceedings, or other work beyond the statutory scope of an Administrative Attorney is required, we explain the situation clearly and then propose how to work with the most suitable partner professional.
※ Every administrative review and permission is decided at the sole discretion of the competent authority, so no particular outcome is guaranteed. We carry out each procedure honestly and meticulously, in accordance with the law.