Following an amendment to the Health Insurance Act that goes into effect on April 3, foreign nationals and overseas South Koreans must reside in the country for at least six months to receive health insurance coverage as dependents of the actual subscribers.

The new measures, however, will allow children under the age of 19 or spouses of foreign workers to be covered by the national health insurance before residing in Korea for six months so that families of diplomats and expatriate employees can settle in the country and have their basic needs met.

Overseas South Korean nationals are those living abroad who hold South Korean nationality, according to the NHIS.

Foreign spouses coming to Korea after marrying a South Korean national, those holding a D-2 student visa, D-4-3 visa issued for special training program purposes, nonprofessional employment E-9 visa, F-5 permanent residency visa or F-6 marriage migrant visa are also not included, and are able to receive health insurance benefits immediately.

But parents of South Korean passport holders’ foreign spouses, who could be listed as dependents before, must stay over six months to benefit from the scheme, according to the NHIS.

The health care insurance criteria have become stricter in recent years to prevent foreign residents from entering the country for a brief stint and joining the program by paying nominal insurance fees to receive high-cost treatments.

Amid growing criticism that some foreign residents are taking advantage of the state medical insurance scheme through loopholes in the health care system, the revision to the health insurance measure was passed during a plenary session of the National Assembly on Dec. 8 last year.

“(We) expect that stricter standards will help screen foreigners benefiting from the service,” an official at the NHIS told The Korea Herald.