Gyeonggi-do to Provide Disaster Basic Income to 'Marriage Immigrants and Permanent Residents' Starting June...

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will start providing the 'Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income' to marriage immigrants and permanent residents in the province from the 1st of next month.

The eligibility criteria are marriage immigrants and permanent residents who have been registered as foreigners in Gyeonggi Province from before 24:00 on May 4, 2020, up to the application date. The province estimates this group to be approximately 100,000 people.

Marriage immigrants who have not acquired nationality can apply regardless of their residency status after confirming their marriage relationship certificate.

Applications will be accepted from the 1st of next month until July 31. Applicants must bring their foreigner registration card and application form and visit the administrative welfare center of their local eup, myeon, or dong in person.

Upon application, each person will receive one prepaid card loaded with 100,000 KRW immediately. Since verification through the foreigner information system is required, applications cannot be made at NongHyup bank branches.

If cities or counties intend to provide disaster basic income to marriage immigrants and permanent residents as Gyeonggi Province does, they can combine their support funds with the provincial funds on the card issued by Gyeonggi Province and distribute the total amount.

Previously, when announcing the implementation of the Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income last month, foreigners were excluded from the payment targets.

Following requests for support from migrant organizations and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the province decided on the 20th of last month to provide the Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income to marriage immigrants and foreigners with permanent residency.

The province considered that marriage immigrants have strong ties with natives, a high possibility of acquiring South Korean nationality and permanent residency, and that local governments have responsibilities to support multicultural families under the Multicultural Families Support Act.

Earlier, on the 29th of last month, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council held a plenary session and passed the 'Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income Payment Ordinance Amendment (Draft)' allowing foreigners in the province to receive the Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung stated on social media (SNS) on the 19th of last month, "Although there were concerns about this issue initially, the Disaster Basic Income is an urgent matter requiring speed, so we could not delay due to detailed reviews and controversies. We will prepare legal procedures such as ordinance amendments for Gyeonggi Province and each city and county, system improvements, and confirmation of recipients, and after a certain point, we will provide combined payments simultaneously with cities and counties that decide on their own disaster basic income."

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