South Korea tightens border checks as number of Kazakh illegal migrants soars

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - In an attempt to curb the inflow of illegal migrants from Kazakhstan, South Korea has tightened document checks at its border, Kazinform reports. 

It was announced at the press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan attended by Mr Ardak Madiyev, Director of the Consular Service Department of the Ministry, and Ambassador of South Korea to Kazakhstan Kim Dae-sik.

The press conference focused on the problems of deportation of Kazakhstani citizens entering the Republic of Korea on tourist, business and medical treatment visas.

It was noted that recently many Kazakhstanis have been denied entry into South Korea. Ambassador Kim Dae-sik admitted that many nationals of Kazakhstan arrive in the Republic of Korea to find jobs and that the number of illegal migrants from Kazakhstan in Korea has soared.

Presently, there are over 4,100 illegal migrants from Kazakhstan in South Korea compared to only 359 three years ago.

After Kazakhstan and South Korea entered into the visa-free travel agreement in 2014, the number of illegal migrants in the country increased 11fold (!).

That led to tightened border checks of Kazakhstani nationals by South Korean border authorities.