The number of marriage visa holders in South Korea has fallen for seven consecutive months after visa regulations were tightened, Justice Ministry officials said Friday.

The ministry said the number of people on foreign spouse visas in the country dropped to 150,000 as of last month, about a 1 percent year-on-year decrease.

The figure began to gradually fall last October, especially among women.

The number of women marriage visa holders stood at about 127,000 last month, down by 1.5 percent compared to September, the authorities said.

The strengthened visa regulations was the main cause of the decline, they said.

As part of the efforts to prevent international marriage fraud while ensuring stability in living arrangements, the government has required an elementary level of Korean language skills for F-6 visa seekers since April last year.

The new rules ask visa applicants to submit scores on the Test of Proficiency in Korean or certificates from government-approved language courses.

Couples that are able to communicate in another language are exempt from the language requirements.

The ministry also limited the number of times an individual could sponsor a marriage visa from twice to once in five years.

The visa requirements were strengthened in response to reports of related social problems, such as human trafficking or domestic violence against foreign wives.

As of last month, Chinese nationals accounted for the lion’s share of marriage immigrants with about 40 percent, followed by Vietnamese and Japanese, with 26.3 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, officials said.

By Lee Hyun-jeong  (rene@heraldcorp.com)