09/04/2026
[We want to raise our child together in Korea.]
The client is a Korean man who married a Vietnamese national about one year ago. His spouse entered Korea on a marriage visa and they have been living together. However, the child from his spouse’s previous marriage has been living in Vietnam under the care of the maternal grandmother.
The client determined that it was no longer feasible for the family to remain separated and decided to bring the child to Korea to live together, with plans to proceed with adoption in the future. For assistance with the entire process, he sought help from White Law Firm.
✔ White Law Firm’s Strategy
① We designed the entire process starting from inviting the child to Korea on a short-term visa (C-3), ensuring a smooth transition to a change of status afterward.
② We secured and organized key documents, including the child’s birth certificate, divorce-related documents from Vietnam, and evidence of custody, to clearly establish the legal basis of family relationship and parental rights.
③ We personally visited the Incheon Immigration Office to process the change of status from C-3 to F-1-52, and systematically managed the entire procedure to ensure continuity leading up to the future adoption process.
✔ Result
Bringing a child from a previous marriage to Korea requires more than a simple invitation—it involves a complex process that includes a change of visa status and eventual adoption procedures. In particular, proving family relationships and custody is a critical factor when changing status after entering on a short-term visa.
In this case, by strategically planning from the initial invitation stage and directly handling the process at the immigration office, we successfully completed the change of status to an F-1-52 visa without any additional document requests.
As a result, the child has secured a stable basis to reside in Korea.
The client is now planning to proceed with the adoption process after obtaining the child’s Alien Registration Card. White Law Firm continues to provide full support throughout the entire process—from short-term visa invitation to change of status and eventual adoption.