Picture: Immigration Bureau of Seoul, South Korea

Summary: The Immigration Special Investigation Team’s "false refugee application" recruited 52 people through SNS... 5 to 11 million won per person.

The Immigration Special Investigation Team of the Seoul Immigration and Foreigners Agency stated on May 24 that it detained a "refugee intermediary" Chinese A (50 years old) on suspicion of violating the immigration control law and handed it over to the prosecutors. The representative of the visa agency company A is suspected of introducing false refugee applications to 52 Chinese people over the years.

The survey results show that A has recruited Chinese people who want to obtain fake refugee status through social network (SNS) advertisements from 2018. The main target is those who want to work illegally. With the purpose of "being arrested and suppressed by the police while carrying out missionary activities in The Church of Almighty God in China", Mr. A fabricated a refugee application or forged and submitted a fake residence confirmation to make it look like living in a boarding place.

Applying for false refugees in South Korea through A, it only took 4 days to find a job. On the first day of entry, a physical examination and mobile phone activation will be conducted, various application forms and interview training will be conducted for two consecutive days, documents will be received and a passbook will be opened for three consecutive days, and referral work will be accepted for four consecutive days.

A received 5 to 11 million won per person at the cost of applying for false refugees, and an additional 500,000 to 1 million won when introducing a job. After issuing refugee applicants’ visas, they extended the visas on their behalf or led the dissatisfaction proceedings against the refugee’s non-recognition decision. The Immigration Special Investigation Team believes that A has been engaged in the refugee intermediary business in an organized manner and has asked the Chinese judicial department to assist in the investigation of the local intermediary in China.

According to A's mobile phone and other positioning, 52 Chinese have applied for false refugees through this kind of intermediary behavior. The immigration special investigation team forcibly deported 13 of them, and the others are still being pursued. Among them, B (34 years old) is currently detained in a detention center for telephone fraud. It is reported that Mr. B stated to the investigating agency that “in order to play a role in stabilizing phone fraud withdrawers, he falsely applied for refugees.”

The Special Immigration Investigation Team explained: "I think there are not a few foreigners and refugee intermediaries who apply for refugees for the purpose of illegal employment and undermine the credibility of the refugee policy." "It plans to cooperate with the Chinese judicial department to expand the scope of relevant investigations." Article 26 of the "Immigration Control Law" stipulates that for applications for permission to change the status of stay, etc., if you submit forged documents or applications with false facts, you will be punished with a fixed-term imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won.