Restrictive Marriage Migration Policies and Family Outcomes

As cross-border marriages rise, many governments have tightened rules on who can marry across borders, often in the name of promoting integration. Cross-border couples tend to have high divorce rates, which hinders successful assimilation. This paper provides the first evidence on how restrictive marriage migration policies affect family outcomes of migrants. We exploit a 2014 reform in South Korea that introduced pre-entry requirements for marriage visas, with language proficiency as the key component. Using rich administrative and survey data, we show that the reform led to a sharp temporary decline in cross-border marriages, improved migrants’ language skills, and increased educational attainment among both migrants and their Korean spouses. Comparing marriage cohorts immediately before and after the reform cutoff date, we find that cumulative divorce rates fell by 37% in the first 12 months and by 12% in the first 48 months, primarily due to language-based selection rather than demographic factors. Our evidence indicates that improved communication enhanced marital surplus and highlights the potential positive impact of selective admission policies that target civil and cultural assimilation.