Apostille, Certificate of Marriage Eligibility, and Family Relation Certificate Guide

When You Need This Set

• When a Korean and a foreigner report a marriage, a certificate of the foreigner’s eligibility to marry is required.
• Issuing an F-6 (marriage immigration) visa requires a document proving the marriage and the Korean spouse’s family relation certificate and basic certificate.
• Documents issued overseas require an apostille or consular legalization.

Structure to Know First

• The family relation register is a register of citizens of the Republic of Korea. A foreigner has no register of their own, and only the foreigner’s name, sex, date of birth, nationality, and alien registration number are entered in the register of the Korean spouse, child, or parent.
• So what a foreigner obtains is not their own certificate but a certificate of their Korean family member, requested as the person themselves, spouse, or lineal blood relative. An agent needs authorization.
• The alien registration card takes the place of the resident registration card.

1. Issuing Korean Family Relation Certificates

• Covered: family relation certificate, basic certificate, and marriage relation certificate (of the Korean spouse).
• Where issued: city, district, eup, myeon or dong community centers nationwide (the bodies that handle family relation registration), unmanned certificate kiosks, and overseas missions. Internet issuance is through the Supreme Court Family Relation Registration site and is also linked from Government24. Inquiries: 1899-2732 (guide page).
• English certificates: the guide page has an “English certificate” menu.

2. Certificate of Marriage Eligibility (Issued in the Foreigner’s Home Country)

• The issuing body is the competent authority of the foreigner’s home country or that country’s embassy or consulate in Korea, and it differs by country.
• For the marriage report, you submit the foreigner’s certificate of eligibility to marry and the marriage report form. For the specific requirements of this certificate, contact the agency with jurisdiction.
• For Chinese documents, an apostille is obtained on the certificate of single status and consular legalization is not needed.
• The marriage report is made at the city, district, eup, myeon or dong, and a report concerning a foreigner can also be made at the place of residence, or at the reporter’s address or current location.
• When a marriage took place abroad, the report of the marriage certificate is made at an overseas mission or at the city, district, eup or myeon of the Korean’s registered domicile, attaching a copy of the marriage certificate and a translation.

3. Apostille and Consular Legalization

• Korean documents: it is explained that official documents issued by the state or local governments, notarizations, copies of judgments, and the like get an apostille from the Overseas Koreans Agency, and Ministry of Justice and prosecutors’ office documents and notarizations from the Ministry of Justice. Some documents are issued directly as an e-Apostille (apostille.go.kr) (Ministry of Education graduation and enrollment certificates, etc., summary of search results).
• Overseas Koreans Agency Integrated Civil Service Office: 15th floor, Twin Tree Tower Building A, 6 Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 02-6747-0404, weekdays 09:00~18:00 (guide).
• Foreign documents: you obtain an apostille from the body designated by the issuing country (Convention member countries), and documents from non-member countries get consular legalization from a Republic of Korea mission.
• Consular legalization (for non-apostille countries) is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and overseas missions.

Link to Stay Documents

• The Ministry of Justice “Manual for Stay Civil Services by Status” says that documents issued overseas need an attached apostille or consular legalization.
• An extension of period of stay requires the Korean spouse’s marriage relation certificate and resident registration abstract.

Statutory Fee

Deadline

• The issuance deadline and validity period for this set of documents differ by document, so ask the place of submission.