Support for returning home (marriage immigrants)

Returning home is hard to reverse. Always take advice before deciding.

Check these first

1. Residence status — what re-entry would look like if you leave now. Ask 1345.
2. Children — nationality, custody, consent to travel. See custody-issues.
3. Money and assets — bank accounts, deposits, severance pay, lump-sum pension refunds. See nhis-refund-departure and tax-refund-departure.
4. Unpaid wages — settle anything owed before you leave. See unpaid-wages.
5. Health insurance and pension settlement

Support available

• Return counselling — family centres and the Danuri Call Centre.
• Information on resettling at home — your embassy and home-country bodies.
• Emergency return support — schemes may exist in urgent cases such as violence.
• Documents when travelling with children — passports, travel consent, nationality.
• Help with airfare and initial costs — organisations sometimes assist, case by case.

The process

1. Request counselling from 1577-1366 or a family centre.
2. With children, confirm custody and travel consent through legal advice (132).
3. Check pension and insurance refund procedures — some must be applied for before departure.
4. Settle wages and deposits.
5. Confirm home-country documentation at your embassy. See embassy-contacts.

Where to go

• 1577-1366 Danuri Call Centre (multilingual)
• 1345 Immigration Contact Centre (residence and re-entry)
• 132 Korea Legal Aid Corporation (custody, assets)
• 1350 Ministry of Employment and Labour (wages)
• 1355 National Pension Service (lump-sum refund)

Questions people ask

Can I take my child with me? Custody and the other parent's consent are the crux. Always take legal advice from 132. Taking a child out without consent creates serious legal problems.

Can I come back later? It depends on your residence history and reasons. Check with 1345 in advance.

I need to leave urgently because of violence. Contact 1366 and 1577-1366. Shelters and emergency support exist. See dv-shelter.

Can I get my pension back? Depending on your country and the criteria, a lump-sum refund may be payable. Check with 1355.

Take care

Settle the money owed to you before rushing to leave. Wages, deposits and pensions are far harder to pursue from abroad. Taking a child abroad without the other parent's consent can be a criminal matter — always take legal advice.

Related

international-marriage-family · custody-issues · nhis-refund-departure · unpaid-wages · embassy-contacts

Source

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Danuri portal www.liveinkorea.kr / As of 2026-08