Rules on foreign spouses to change

Korean nationals married to foreigners will soon be able to print out the necessary resident registration forms from the internet rather than having to personally visit their community service center along with their spouse.

The Ministry of Interior announced Tuesday it will revise the Resident Registration Act accordingly, and that the amendment will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval after a review of public opinion ends Nov. 17.

The ministry said in a statement that the revised law will make life easier for multicultural families in Korea, affecting as many as 150,000 spouses from abroad who have yet to gain Korean citizenship.

Another major problem, according to the ministry, was that the children of multicultural families were often misunderstood to be living in one-parent households because their resident registration forms excluded their foreign parent.

The ministry stressed that the new measure doesn’t mean Korea will issue resident registration forms to non-Koreans.

As present, foreigners will be given certificates of alien registration.

BY CHUN IN-SUNG [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]