With 7.4 million Koreans abroad, missed overseas registrations keep causing problems Without registration, no Overseas Korean Registration certificate is issued even where the stay actually took place, and registering late does not bring the earlier record onto the document.

Apostille Korea said it provides a document agency service covering the Overseas Korean Registration certificate. Statistics Korea puts the number of Koreans abroad at about 7.4 million, roughly 15 percent of the population, and the company said the registration system created to support them keeps producing the same recurring problems.

The most common failure is never registering at all

According to figures released by Statistics Korea, about 7.4 million Koreans live abroad, a number that continues to rise. The overseas Korean registration system was introduced in 2013 to support the activities of these nationals, who account for roughly 15 percent of the population, both at home and overseas, and to enable proper administrative handling and effective protection policy. It applies the domestic resident registration system to life abroad, and the certificate records basic personal details along with the address in the country of stay, the purpose and status of the stay and the date of first entry. Every Korean national who resides or intends to stay for more than 90 days in a given area abroad is covered, with the exception of those holding foreign citizenship. New registration must be filed within 30 days and any change within 14 days. Yet the most common failure is never registering at all, and without registration at the local consulate no certificate is issued even where the stay can actually be shown.

A late registration cannot capture the past

Because failing to register causes no problem in daily life abroad, many people never get around to it. Most learn of the requirement only when they return to Korea and try to obtain the certificate, and since entries in the register are recorded as of the date of application, a late filing does not bring earlier periods of stay onto the document. Even after registering, the complicated application procedure remains as a second obstacle. The certificate is not available online, so the applicant must visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jongno, Seoul in person or appoint a proxy, and issuance still takes more than four days. Neither option is realistic when family and acquaintances are all abroad or when the applicant lives far from Seoul. Because the document is required when checking and applying for special provisions such as special university admission, military service arrangements and the national pension, applicants are often working against the clock. Apostille Korea said professional support is needed since many of the matters that call for the certificate extend into translation into each country's language, notarisation and legalisation.

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Source: 미래한국 · 2017-05-02