Automatic Loss on Voluntary Acquisition of Foreign Nationality
Citizenship in South Korea
- Eligibility
- REVOCATION for fraud (허가 등의 취소, §21): the Minister of Justice MAY revoke (취소할 수 있다) a permission for naturalization, permission for recovery of nationality, or adjudication of nationality retention obtained by 'false or other wrongful means' (거짓이나 그 밖의 부정한 방법). Standards/procedure delegated to Presidential Decree. This is a DISTINCT involuntary-loss mechanism from both §14 voluntary renunciation and §14-4 (current) state deprivation of dual nationals.
- Timeline
- automatic
- Renunciation
- Not required
Overview
REVOCATION for fraud (허가 등의 취소, §21): the Minister of Justice MAY revoke (취소할 수 있다) a permission for naturalization, permission for recovery of nationality, or adjudication of nationality retention obtained by 'false or other wrongful means' (거짓이나 그 밖의 부정한 방법). Standards/procedure delegated to Presidential Decree. This is a DISTINCT involuntary-loss mechanism from both §14 voluntary renunciation and §14-4 (current) state deprivation of dual nationals.
Legal basis
Primary statute: 국적법 제15조. Operative 1948-12-20–present. Authority: Minister of Justice (법무부장관); Korea Immigration Service (출입국·외국인정책본부).
Example scenarios
Automatically loses ROK nationality
Nationality Act Art.15(1): voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality causes automatic loss at that moment.
Retains ROK nationality
Nationality Act Art.15(2): marriage/adoption/acknowledgment-based foreign-nationality acquirers keep ROK nationality if they declare intent to retain within 6 months.
Loses ROK nationality on acceptance
국적법 제15조 governs voluntary renunciation for those domiciled abroad.
Informational summary compiled from primary legal sources — not legal advice. Citizenship law changes; verify with the competent authority before acting. Last verified 2026-06-22.
Track changes to this route
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