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Overseas Koreans

Concept of Overseas Koreans

Concept of Overseas Koreans

The conceptof overseas Koreans under individual laws and regulations

- The concept of overseas Koreans is defined as follows under the Act on the Immigration Legal Status of Overseas Koreans and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare Act.

Law

Concept of Overseas Koreans

Article 2 of the Act on the Departure/Entry and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans; Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of Article 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Departure/Entry and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans;and Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare Act

① A national of the Republic of Korea who has acquired permanent residency in a foreign country or is living in a foreign country for the purpose of permanent residence (Korean nationals living abroad).

② An individual who used to be a national of the Republic of Korea by birth or a direct descendant of such an individual who acquired foreign nationality, falling into one of the following categories (ethnic Koreans of foreign nationality).

※ In this document, except in cases where a certain range is specified by a separate law, an "overseas Korean" is classified as ① a Korean national living abroad or ② an ethnic Korean of foreign nationality in accordance with the Act on the Departure/Entry and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans, which provides regulations of the widest range pertaining to overseas Koreans.

For legal information on Korean nationals living abroad, see the section Korean Nationals Living Abroad; for legal information on ethnic Koreans of foreign nationality, see the section Ethnic Koreans of Foreign Nationality.