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Structural Limitations of Immigration and Visa Policies and the Design of a Rights - Based Integrated Immigration System Focusing on Comparisons with Major Nations and Analyses of Case Law -

  • Legal Theory & Practice Review
  • Abbr : LTPR
  • 2026, 14(3), pp.261~381
  • Publisher : The Korea Society for Legal Theory and Practice Inc.
  • Research Area : Social Science > Law
  • Received : August 10, 2026
  • Accepted : August 22, 2026
  • Published : August 31, 2026

Jongho Kim 1

1호서대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

South Korea has managed the entry and stay of foreign nationals through a segmented system of residency statuses—covering categories such as economic activity, study, marriage, employment-based visits, seasonal work, refugee status, and permanent residency. While this system has effectively served functions related to administrative control and the regulation of labor market supply and demand, it has revealed significant limitations regarding the guarantee of migrants’ fundamental rights, the protection of labor rights, the social integration of long-term residents, the right to family reunification, and the predictability of pathways to permanent residency and naturalization. In particular, structural issues within South Korea’s immigration policy include restrictions on workplace mobility for foreign workers under the ‘employment permit system’, disparities in rights based on visa status, stringent requirements for long-term residency and permanent residency, the precarious legal status of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, and an immigration administration system fragmented across the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Education, and local governments. This paper proposes directions for improving South Korea’s immigration visa policies by comparing the immigration policies and key judicial precedents of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. Significant insights for South Korea can be drawn from the U.S. model of federal-led immigration control and the guarantee of procedural rights; the U.K.’s points-based immigration system and protection of family life under human rights law; Germany’s skilled worker immigration laws and the guarantee of social rights based on human dignity; France’s republican integration model and case law rooted in the principle of fraternity; and Japan’s policies for attracting highly skilled talent alongside a structure characterized by broad administrative discretion. This paper argues that South Korea should move beyond an immigration administration focused merely on managing the stay of foreign nationals and transition to an integrated immigration legal framework based on the principles of rights-based approaches, integration orientation, predictability, and proportionality. Specific proposals include: ① simplifying the visa system and reclassifying visas based on rights; ② easing restrictions on workplace mobility under the ‘employment permit system’ and guaranteeing the right to labor market mobility; ③ institutionalizing a phased settlement pathway leading to long-term residency, permanent residency, and naturalization; ④ strengthening the protection of the right to family reunification and children’s rights; ⑤ establishing rational regularization mechanisms for refugees, humanitarian status holders, and undocumented long-term residents; ⑥ strengthening judicial oversight of the foreigner detention system and expanding alternatives to detention; ⑦ establishing an integrated inter-agency immigration governance structure; and ⑧ overhauling legislation regarding comprehensive anti-discrimination and social integration.

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