Individuals with multiple nationality who choose the nationality of the Republic of Korea must declare their intention at the jurisdictional immigration office.
Procedure for nationality selection
- Individuals who became multiple nationals before turning 20 years old must, before turning 22, renounce their foreign nationality or pledge not to exercise their foreign nationality in the Republic of Korea, while those who became multiple nationals after turning 20 must do so within 2 years (hereinafter “pledge not to exercise foreign nationality”), and declare their intention to choose the nationality of the Republic of Korea to the Minister of Justice (Article 13(1) and the main body of Article 12(1) of the Nationality Act).
- Multiple nationals wishing to choose the nationality of the Republic of Korea after the aforementioned period can only declare their intention to the Minister of Justice if they have renounced their foreign nationality. However, those who have completed or are deemed to have completed their service in active duty, full-time reserve, supplementary, or alternative service can declare their intention to choose the nationality of the Republic of Korea to the Minister of Justice within 2 years after renouncing their foreign nationality or after taking the pledge not to exercise foreign nationality (see Articles 13(2) and 12(3) of the Nationality Act).
How to report
- Individuals (limited to those aged 15 and above) must make the nationality selection report personally (the main body of Article 25-2(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
- For individuals under 15 years old, a legal representative can report on their behalf, and the report form must include the representative’s name and address. In addition, the documents proving the relationship with the reporting person must be attached (Article 19 of the Nationality Act; Article 25-2(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
Required documents
- Individuals with multiple nationality wishing to declare their intention to choose the nationality of the Republic of Korea, after completing the procedure for renouncing or losing their foreign nationality, must submit the following documents to the head of an immigration office, the head of a local immigration office, the head of a branch office of an immigration office, or the head of a branch office of a local immigration office (hereinafter “office head, etc.”), or after taking the pledge not to exercise foreign nationality, they must submit the following documents to the office head, etc. (Article 17(2) and Subparagraph 6 of Article 29 of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act; Article 11 and attached Form 7 of the Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act):
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Required Documents
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▪ Report on choice of nationality ▪ Certificate of family relationship records ▪ Documents proving the fact and date of renouncing foreign nationality or a pledge not to exercise foreign nationality ▪ Documents proving the reason and date of acquiring foreign nationality and a copy of the foreign passport ▪ Military-related documents proving that one has completed or is deemed to have completed service as active duty, full-time reserve, supplementary, or alternative service (only applicable to those who have made a pledge not to exercise foreign nationality) ▪ Documents designated by the Minister of Justice proving that at the time of birth, the mother did not reside in a foreign country to have her child acquire a foreign nationality (only applicable to those who have pledged not to exercise foreign nationality)
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※ If the submitted documents concerning the report above are in a foreign language, they must be accompanied by a translation, including the translator’s name and contact details (Article 16 of the Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act).
- If the person intending to make the above report resides overseas, they can submit documents through the head of diplomatic missions abroad (referring to embassies, delegations, and general consulates) with jurisdiction over their address (Article 25(1)6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act; Article 2 of the Act on the Establishment of Diplomatic Missions Abroad of the Republic of Korea).
※ For detailed documents required for the Nationality Selection Report, please check the <
Hi Korea website> or contact the Foreigner’s Comprehensive Information Center (☎1345).
If a multiple national chooses a foreign nationality, they must report this to the diplomatic mission abroad with jurisdiction over their foreign address.
Declaration of renunciation of nationality of the Republic of Korea
- A multiple national who wishes to choose a foreign nationality can only declare their intent to renounce the nationality of the Republic of Korea through the head of a diplomatic mission abroad in their jurisdiction if they have an address in a foreign country (the main body of Article 14(1) of the Nationality Act).
- However, those incorporated into the military service reserve can make a nationality renunciation declaration within 3 months from the time of incorporation or within 2 years from any of the following circumstances (Article 12(2), (3), and proviso of Article 14(1) of the Nationality Act):
· Completion or deemed completion of service as active duty, full-time reserve, supplementary, or alternative service;
· Inclusion in wartime labor service; or
· Receipt of military service exemption.
※ Special Provisions on Renunciation of Nationality of the Republic of Korea
- Multiple nationals who meet all the following conditions can apply for permission to renounce nationality of the Republic of Korea from the Minister of Justice even if they failed to declare nationality renunciation within 3 months from the time of incorporation into the military service reserve (Article 14-2(1) and attached Table 1 of the Nationality Act).
1. A person to whom any one of the following applies:
a. Born abroad (excluding those born while their direct ancestor was residing abroad without intent to reside permanently) and continuously resided abroad with an address in a foreign country until applying for permission to renounce nationality; or
b. Moved abroad before the age of 6 and continuously resided abroad with an address in a foreign country until applying for permission to renounce nationality.
2. There should be socially accepted reasons for not being able to declare nationality renunciation within 3 months from the time of incorporation into the military service reserve.
- The permission application should be made by multiple nationals with an address abroad through the head of a diplomatic mission abroad in their jurisdiction (Article 14-2(3) of the Nationality Act).
- Individuals who apply for permission to renounce nationality lose the nationality of the Republic of Korea when the Minister of Justice grants permission (Article 14-2(4) of the Nationality Act).
- A person born abroad while their direct ancestor was residing there without the intent of permanent residence can only declare nationality renunciation in one of the following cases related to the fulfillment of military duty (Article 12(3) of the Nationality Act):
· Completion or deemed completion of service as active duty, full-time reserve, supplementary, or alternative service;
· Inclusion in wartime labor service; or
· Receipt of military service exemption.
※ Who is a person born abroad when their direct ancestor resides without the intention of permanent residence?
- A person born abroad when their direct ancestor resides without the intention of permanent residence refers to someone whose father or mother is based abroad without having acquired citizenship, permanent residency, or similar residency status (Article 16-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
- A person born “under a similar residency status” refers to anyone that falls under one of the following (Article 10-2(1) of the Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act):
1. A male born abroad whose father or mother acquires foreign citizenship or permanent residency after his birth;
2. A male born when his father or mother, while residing abroad, has applied for foreign citizenship or permanent residency;
3. A male born abroad whose father or mother applies for foreign citizenship or permanent residency after his birth; or
4. A male born abroad whose father or mother has continuously resided abroad for more than 17 years before his report of renouncing citizenship.
How to report
- Individuals (limited to those aged 15 and above) must personally make the renunciation of citizenship declaration (the main body of Article 25-2(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
- For individuals under the age of 15, their legal representative can make the declaration on their behalf. When a legal representative makes the declaration, they must state their name and address on the report form and attach documentation proving their relationship with the declarant (Article 19 of the Nationality Act; Article 25-2(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
Required documents
- Individuals who wish to declare their intention to renounce nationality of the Republic of Korea as multiple nationals must submit the following documents to the head of a diplomatic mission abroad in their jurisdiction. The diplomatic mission head must then promptly forward these documents to the Minister of Justice (Article 12(3) of the Nationality Act; Articles 18(1) and 16-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act; and Article 12(1), (2), and attached Form 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act).
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Required Documents
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▪ Report on renunciation of nationality ▪ Certificate of family relationship records ▪ Document proving acquisition or possession of foreign nationality ▪ Documents verifying the reason and date of acquiring foreign nationality and a copy of the foreign passport ▪ Males intending to declare renunciation of citizenship before March 31 of the year they turn 18 must submit the documents determined by the Minister of Justice proving that they were not born abroad when their direct ancestor resided without the intention of permanent residence. ▪ Males declaring renunciation of citizenship after April 1 of the year they turn 18 must submit one of the following documents related to fulfilling military duty (only applicable when it cannot be verified with a medical certificate): 1. Having completed service as an active-duty, full-time reserve, supplementary, or alternative serviceman; 2. Being incorporated into wartime labor service; or 3. Having received an exemption from military duty.
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※ If the submitted documents concerning the report above are in a foreign language, they must be accompanied by a translation, including the translator’s name and contact details (Article 16 of the Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act).
※ For detailed documentation required for renunciation of citizenship declaration, please check the <
Hi Korea website> or contact the Foreigner’s Comprehensive Information Center (☎1345).
Acceptance of report on renunciation of nationality
- The Minister of Justice only approves the renunciation of citizenship declaration when all requirements for renunciation are met (Article 18(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
Official gazette announcement and notification
- Upon approving the renunciation of citizenship declaration, the Minister of Justice must promptly notify the individual through the respective head of a diplomatic mission abroad and notify the head of the family relationship registration office at the individual’s place of registration and announce it publicly (Article 18(3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
- If the person renouncing their citizenship is registered as a resident, the Minister of Justice must also notify the head of that resident registration office (Article 18(4) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
If the permission for renunciation of nationality was obtained through deceit or other unfair means, that permission can be revoked.
Revocation of the permission to renounce nationality
- Those who have obtained permission to renounce nationality through deceit or other unfair means can have that permission revoked (Article 21(1) of the Nationality Act).
- The following individuals may have their permission to renounce nationality revoked (Article 21(3) of the Nationality Act; Article 27(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act):
· Individuals who have been found guilty of forging or altering identification documents to obtain permission to renounce nationality or for submitting such forged or altered documents; or
· Individuals who have significant defects in their permission to renounce nationality.
Provision of an opportunity to explain
- The Minister of Justice must provide the individual with an opportunity to explain before revoking their permission to renounce nationality. However, this does not apply if the whereabouts of the individual is unknown or if the individual does not comply with the request to submit explanation documents more than twice without a valid reason (Article 27(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).
Notification and public notice of the permit cancelation
- When the Minister of Justice revokes the permission to renounce nationality, he/she must promptly notify the individual and the head of the family relationship registration office at the place of registration and announce it in the Official Gazette (Article 27(3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act).