There Are 'Ghost Foreigners' Registered at My Home... Loopholes in Residence Management System

Gaps in Managing Foreigners' Residences: Reliance on Voluntary Reporting
Many Homeowners Unaware Due to Absence in Official Documents
Korean Nationals Managed by Ministry of Interior, Foreigners by Ministry of Justice

#. Mr. A, a man in his 40s living in Busan, received an election information letter under a Chinese national's name ahead of the recent local elections. He had been living in the same house for several years and had never seen the name written on the letter before. Assuming it was a delivery mistake, he visited the community center to review the foreigner residence certificate and discovered an unexpected fact: two Chinese nationals had been registered as residents at his address since 2016. Mr. A said, "There's no way to know about this since it doesn't appear in the resident registration certificate. If it weren't for the election mail, I would never have found out."

#. A couple in their 30s, Mr. and Mrs. B, who are newlyweds living in Seoul, had a similar experience. They found it odd that mail addressed to foreigners had been delivered to their home for several years. Upon checking, they discovered that a Chinese national had been registered at their address since 2012. It was only after submitting their real estate sales contract, a copy of their ID, and a certificate confirming that the foreigner did not reside there to the immigration authorities that they were able to have the foreigner marked as not residing at the address. Mr. B pointed out, "It was very baffling that the residency record remained even though the owner of the house had changed several times."

With the increase in international students and foreign workers, the number of long-term foreign residents in Korea has surpassed 2 million, but the management of their places of residence remains inadequate. Unlike Korean nationals, whose actual address can be investigated or updated ex officio based on the resident registration system, the authorities have no way of knowing the residence of foreigners if they do not report a change of address themselves. This not only causes administrative problems such as difficulties in locating individuals, but also creates loopholes in the management of undocumented foreigners.

According to the Ministry of Justice on July 2, the number of long-term foreign residents required to register was 1,881,921 in 2023, 2,042,017 in 2024, and 2,159,052 last year, steadily increasing. The number of undocumented foreigners has remained at around 400,000 per year since 2020. As the number of international students grows, a significant number of undocumented foreigners are also students. As of February this year, there were 297,952 international students with degree program (D-2) or language study (D-4-1) visas, and 31,249 of them (10.5%) were undocumented. Narrowing it down to language study visas, 22,158 out of 75,033 students (29.5%) were staying illegally.

The management of foreigners' places of residence forms the basic mechanism for confirming individuals' whereabouts and ensuring proper administrative notices, civil service, and cooperation with investigations. If actual residence and registered residence are not aligned and the situation is left unaddressed, official mail regarding elections, taxes, and welfare could be sent to the wrong location. This can also create gaps in response to crime or disasters.

Korean nationals are managed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and each local government based on the resident registration system. If the actual address is unknown, an ex officio investigation and correction are possible. In contrast, for foreigners, who are separately managed by the Ministry of Justice, there are limitations in confirming actual residence or updating address information. According to the Immigration Control Act, registered foreigners must report any change of residence, and failure to do so results in a fine. However, if foreigners do not report the change themselves in a timely manner, it becomes difficult to determine their actual place of residence over the long term.

Even if a foreigner is registered at one's home, it is not easy to address the situation. To check the status of foreigners registered at one's property, one must visit the local immigration office or community service center in person with documentation proving eligibility, such as a lease or purchase contract. Although the Immigration Control Act was amended in June 2023 to make it easier to check the status of registered foreigners, online applications are still not possible.

Residents are filling out applications to view or receive a Foreign Resident Certificate at the Huigyeong 2-dong Community Service Center in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Ji Eun Oh

After receiving a "police summons in the name of a Chinese national," a reporter attempted to obtain a foreigner residence certificate and found the process challenging from the outset. When inquiring at the Sejongno Branch of the Seoul Immigration Office, the staff recommended visiting the community service center. Because the lease had been verbally extended, the contract period had expired in the documents. After visiting the Huigyeong 2-dong Community Service Center in Dongdaemun-gu and waiting over 20 minutes, the process could finally proceed. The application form was not available online, so it had to be checked and filled out on-site.

After confirming that a foreigner who did not reside at the address was registered, a "certificate of non-residence" had to be submitted to have them officially marked as not residing there. When a report is filed, the Ministry of Justice notifies the registered contact to appear at the relevant immigration office. If contact cannot be made, the only measure taken is to record in the system that staff verification is required if the foreigner visits the agency for an extension of stay or other permits. Although field investigation teams can be dispatched, it is practically impossible to verify every report of non-residence due to the large number of cases.

An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "If a report is not filed, it is difficult for administrative agencies to identify the situation. Since this is not reflected in the resident registration certificate, it is not uncommon for homeowners or actual residents to be unaware of it."

Experts point out that both institutional reform and strengthening administrative capacity are needed to address the blind spots in managing foreigners' places of residence. Woo Youngok, Director of the Migration Society Integration Policy Research Institute, said, "Due to the characteristics of foreigners, there are administrative limitations in confirming actual residence after registration. As the number of long-term foreign residents increases, it is necessary to expand professional personnel and enhance inter-agency cooperation to manage residence information more systematically."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.