As more families spend a month or two abroad with their children during school breaks, many guardians ask whether the child allowance keeps arriving in the meantime. The answer is that payment of the child allowance is suspended when the child stays outside Korea for 90 days or more. On top of that, from October 2, 2026 the Ministry of Health and Welfare began linking its social security information system to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' passport information system in real time, so that even the temporary passports of children born abroad are checked against entry and exit records. This article sets out what a guardian needs to know, in order, based on the Child Allowance Act and the ministry's announcement.

Article 13 of the Child Allowance Act makes a stay abroad of 90 days or more a ground for suspension

The ground for suspension is set out in Article 13 of the Child Allowance Act. Paragraph 1, item 1 lists the case where the period a recipient child stays outside Korea continues for 90 days or more. Because the wording is "continues", the natural reading is that the days are counted from departure while the child stays abroad without a break. The law does not spell out how repeated short trips are counted, so a household in that position should show its dates at the community center and confirm.

Suspension runs from the month after the ground arises until the month of return

The suspension period is also written into the provision: from the month after the month in which the ground arose until the month in which the ground ceased. If you left on July 5, the 90th day falls in early October and suspension starts with the November payment. If you came back on December 20, December is suspended and payment resumes with January the following year. The point is that months do not all drop away from the day of departure; payment stops from the month after the 90 days have passed. This example is the provision laid onto a calendar, and the actual month is fixed by the city, county or district office.

A child born abroad is counted from the date of birth

The same paragraph attaches one exception. For a child who was already abroad when the allowance was applied for, the stay is counted from the date of departure, or from the date of birth if the child was born abroad. For a family that gives birth overseas and returns within three months to apply, the reference is therefore the birth date, not the application date. Children of this kind often enter on a temporary passport, which is exactly what the system change in the next section targets.

From October 2, temporary passports are checked automatically at the application stage

According to the ministry's announcement, the temporary passport of a child born abroad carries no resident registration number, which made it hard to join entry and exit records to the child's data in the social security information system. Local government staff therefore collected a copy of the temporary passport once a year and registered the number by hand, and when a departure was missed or not reported, a long stay was not reflected in time. From October 2, whether a temporary passport has been issued is checked automatically when a welfare benefit is applied for, and entry and exit records are managed faster. The benefits covered include the child allowance and the parental benefit. The approach has shifted from collecting back after payment to screening before payment.

Entry and exit records are data the law already allows officials to request

A guardian might think nobody would know if it were left unsaid, but the law has already opened that path. Article 7, paragraph 2 lets the head of the local government ask the relevant agencies for entry and exit data on citizens and foreigners, along with overseas-citizen registration and emigration report data, in order to verify entitlement. The recent change fills in the missing link for children on temporary passports, so entry and exit records did not suddenly become a new object of inspection. It is also worth remembering that failing to submit documents or submitting false ones can lead to suspension under Article 13, paragraph 2.

You must report within 30 days when a ground for suspension arises or ends

Article 15 puts a reporting duty on the guardian. Both when a ground for suspension arises and when it ends, the guardian must report to the head of the local government within 30 days. That makes the point where the stay passes 90 days and the point of return two separate reporting moments. The details of the method are delegated to a Ministry of Health and Welfare ordinance, so follow the local government's guidance. Putting off the return report can delay resumption of payment, so it helps to start counting days from the date you re-enter Korea.

Money received during the suspension is recovered, and improper receipt carries interest

Article 16, paragraph 1 lists three grounds for recovery: receipt by false or other improper means, payment of the allowance during a period suspended under Article 13, and payment made by mistake for some other reason. Where the allowance was obtained by false or improper means, interest set by presidential decree is added. If allowance is still due to the person, it can be offset against the amount to be recovered, and if the due date passes the amount is collected after a reminder under the procedure for delinquent local taxes (Article 17). A person who objects can file a written objection within 90 days of learning of the disposition (Article 19).

If you have travel plans, check in this order before you leave

In short: first, work out from the departure date and the planned return date whether the stay will pass 90 days. Second, if it looks likely, ask the community center when and how to report the suspension. Third, report the end of the ground within 30 days after you return. If a long stay also means sorting out health insurance, see our article on the child health insurance suspension notice, and for school-age children see our article on what happens to Korean school enrolment when you go abroad. If a child born abroad holds dual nationality, our article on the nationality selection deadline is the related one, and if wiring money is the worry, our article on the designated-bank remittance system follows on. This article is general guidance based on the Child Allowance Act and the ministry's announcement; for whether suspension or recovery applies to your household, confirm with your city, county or district office, Bokjiro, or the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 129 counseling center.