Citizen or residents?

Answer:

Of course the EU GDPR aims at protecting the rights and freedoms of the EU citizens but not only it also protects individuals which are not citizens or residents if the processing activity takes please in the EU.

The key to understanding when EU GDPR is applicable is understanding the meaning of “in the Union.” The EU GDPR will only apply to personal data regarding individuals within the Union, while the nationality or habitual residence of those individuals is irrelevant. For example, a company based in the EU which is processing the data of Japanese individuals located in Japan will still need to comply with the EU GDPR. Consequently, the Japanese individuals will be benefiting from all rights according to the EU GDPR, even if these rights do not exist in their own nation’s laws.