Welcome to Nancen (Refugee Rights Center)

Welcome to Korea and to NANCEN (Refugee Rights Center)! 

This page will introduce you to what we do.

For more information contact refucenter@gmail.com / 82-2-712-0620

Phone calls and visits for consultation every Wednesday 10a.m.-12p.m., 1p.m.-5p.m.

*You must make a reservation for a visit. In case you don’t, you may have to wait long or even consultation might not be possible that day due to other appointments. 

What is NANCEN?

NANCEN is a non-profit civic NGO founded in 2009 in Korea. Since it is a non-governmental organization, it is run by donations from citizens. As of Jan. 1, 2019, it has 5 people as its personnel to help with refugees. 

NANCEN has been devoted to identifying and rectifying problems regarding refugee laws and practices in Korea. Most of the problems refugees face here are rooted in the practices that do not regard human rights. We work to improve laws, policies and systems to drive the Korean society to more fully protect the rights of refugees. For these goals we support refugees in the areas they have difficulty in and try to help resolve individual refugee cases.

Who is a refugee?

The Refugee Convention defines a refugee as the following. If you consider applying for refugee status, self-examination is necessary to check whether you belong to this category. 

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his/her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. Most likely, he/she cannot return home or is afraid to do so.

>> Do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Do you want to consult with NANCEN?

*We do not engage in everything related to refugees. Please understand that our personnel and resources are limited. If a request persists for what we cannot do, we might be forced to terminate the consultation. 

We provide consultation for following services.

▲ NANCEN provides aid for legal proceedings when found necessary after reviewing individual claims of refugees. We have partnership with pro bono law firms that provide lawyers for free for legal proceedings. However, when all our personnel are involved in enough number of cases, we won’t be able to take any more cases due to our limited resources.

▲ Since NANCEN is a non-governmental organization, we do not work for the extension of stay. However, if you have been treated unjustly at the Immigration Office, you can report it to us. In these cases, immediate remedies or actions will be hard to come by because Immigration Office has its own policies and rules. Nevertheless, we will work to reform and improve the practice as our long term task.

▲ If you or members of your family or a friend or a partner are detained, you can consult us. However, when all our personnel are involved in enough number of cases, we won’t be able to help to resolve the detention due to our limited resources. 

*We can also provide contact numbers for organizations that have expertise with regard to health/medical service, education, living and employment, LGBTQ, physically disabled, stateless, and unaccompanied children.

Notice!

You must carry your ID and passport always with you. Foreigners are relatively in a vulnerable position in Korea, and there is even a danger of detention for refugee applicants. So do always keep ID or passport with you. 

Bringing following documents for consultation will help us greatly to understand your situation and needs. 

- Refugee application form

- Receipt of refugee status application

- Interview report

- Notice on non-recognition of refugee status and explanatory statement on non-recognition 

- Disapproval notice on appeal 

- Written verdict

- Other related documents

 

Consultation time & reservation

*Please make a reservation for an interview before you visit us for more efficient consultation.

Contact refucenter@gmail.com for questions.

	Day	Time
Phone call	Wed.	10a.m. ~ 5p.m.
Visit	Wed.	11 a.m. ~ 12 p.m. 2 p.m. ~ 3 p.m. 3 p.m.~ 4 p.m.

 

How to get to NANCEN

Address	Contact Information
401A, 1 dong, 684, Tongil-ro, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, South Korea (03371)	Telephone: +82-(0)2-712-0620 e-mail: refucenter@gmail.com Fax: +82-(0)505-503-0620 Website: http://www.nancen.org