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Here is something many international couples in Korea do not know: your foreign spouse is not added to your Resident Registration copy (주민등록등본) automatically. The short answer: after your spouse gets an Alien Registration Card, apply at the community center to have your spouse listed . Do it early, because some benefits look at how long you have been listed together. We did this right after we moved to Korea in 2023, and I am glad we did. 1. What is the Resident Registration copy? The Resident Registration copy (주민등록등본) is one of the most common documents in Korea. It shows who lives at your address as one household. You need it for many things, such as: Health insurance dependent registration Housing applications and public rental housing Child benefits, school, and many government services 2. Why your foreign spouse is not listed Korean citizens are registered as residents with a resident registration number. Foreigners are registered separately through the Alien Regi...

If your child was born outside Korea and one parent is Korean, your child can be registered as a Korean citizen. The short answer: you can report the birth to Korea without flying home, through a Korean embassy or a Korean administrative agent (행정사) . But the child's resident registration number will show only the first 6 digits until the child actually registers as a resident in Korea. Our child was born in Vietnam in 2019, and we moved to Korea in 2023. Here is how it worked for us. 1. Does my child get Korean nationality? Yes, in most cases. Korea follows the bloodline principle : if the father or mother is a Korean citizen when the child is born, the child is Korean no matter where the child was born . But nationality alone is not enough. You need to report the birth so the child is added to the Korean family register (가족관계등록부) . 2. Two ways to report a birth from abroad Option How it works Korean embassy or consulate Submit the documents at the Korean embassy or ...