Marriage Immigration (F-6) Visa Invitation Documents

At a Glance

• An F-6 visa for the purpose of marital cohabitation requires an invitation from the spouse, and the inviter becomes the surety of the invitee under the Act.
• If the requirements announced by the Minister of Justice apply, the inviter must attach a certificate of completion of the international marriage guidance program or write the completion number on the invitation letter.
• The head of the diplomatic mission can review and confirm how the couple met, the formation of the marriage, income, Korean language ability, housing space and more, and can waive part of the review in cases such as when the couple has a child born between them.
• Under the manual, the F-6-1 visa is a single-entry visa with a period of stay of 90 days or less (multiple-entry for US nationals), and the maximum period of stay granted at one time is 3 years.
• If the visa is not granted, you can apply again after 6 months have passed from the date it was refused. An exception applies if there are urgent circumstances such as childbirth.

Who Needs It

• A foreign spouse whose marriage has been validly formed in Korea and who wants to stay in Korea to continue married life with a Korean national (manual F-6-1, spouse of a Korean national).
• The inviter is the Korean spouse. The Korean spouse writes the invitation letter in Korean, and the foreign spouse writes the marriage background statement in English (manual).
• If the inviter acquired nationality through marriage or acquired permanent residence (F-5-2), the review checks whether 3 years have passed.
• Whether the inviter has invited another spouse within the last 5 years is also reviewed.

Where to Apply

• The foreign spouse applies for the visa at a Korean diplomatic mission abroad, and the head of the mission reviews it.
• If necessary, the mission can ask the head of the immigration and foreigner office, office or branch office with jurisdiction over the inviter's address to confirm the facts.
• The visa application form, invitation letter and letter of surety forms are available from the embassy and the HiKorea website, and the certificate of completion of the international marriage guidance program is issued by an immigration office (manual).
• After entry, complete alien registration and an extension of the period of stay at the immigration office with jurisdiction within 90 days (manual).

What to Bring

• Basic documents: visa application form, 1 passport photo, the foreign spouse's original passport (at least 6 months of remaining validity) and 1 copy of the personal information page, and the fee (manual).
• Documents to fill in: invitation letter for the foreign spouse, letter of surety, and the foreign spouse's marriage background statement (manual).
• Korean spouse: 1 copy of passport, 1 Korean-language original each of the basic certificate (detailed), marriage relation certificate (detailed) and family relation certificate (detailed) (within 3 months of issue), original resident registration copy, certificate of completion of the international marriage guidance program, and health certificate (in the health check form for civil service recruitment applicants, issued within 6 months of the application date) (manual).
• Foreign spouse: marriage certificate from the home country (only if needed), criminal record certificate (within 3 months of issue), health certificate (within 6 months of the application date, including a tuberculosis test), and documents specifically required for that country (manual).
• Income requirement: in addition to the commonly required original certificate of income amount and 1 credit information report from the Korea Credit Information Services, add documents for the items you use among earned, business or other income, or assets. Deposits, insurance, securities and bonds are recognized only if they are 1,000,000 KRW or more and have been held for 6 months or more (manual).
• Korean language requirement: one of a King Sejong Institute (Beginner 1A+1B) certificate of completion or Korean Education Center (Korean course level 2) certificate of completion (120 hours or more), a Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) level 1 or higher score report, a certificate of completion from a designated educational institution, or a Korean language-related degree (manual).
• Housing requirement: a certified copy of the property register if owned; if rented, the property register and 1 copy of the lease agreement. Proof of relationship: photos together, family photos, social media chat records and similar, edited to within 5 pages of A4 (manual).

Costs

• When a diplomatic mission collects the fee in local currency, it sets the base amount considering exchange rate fluctuations, and can set a different amount with the approval of the Minister of Justice under international practice or reciprocity. Check the actual amount with the mission where you apply.
• Document issuance fees (family relation certificates, resident registration copies, etc.) and health check costs are not included in the amounts above.

Procedure

• Step 1: If the Korean spouse is covered by the announcement, they complete the international marriage guidance program; after the marriage is formed in both countries, obtain the family relation certificates.
• Step 2: The Korean spouse prepares the invitation letter, letter of surety and income and housing documents, and the foreign spouse prepares the marriage background statement, criminal record certificate, health certificate and Korean language documents.
• Step 3: The foreign spouse applies for the visa at a Korean diplomatic mission abroad, and the mission reviews the requirements described above. If refused, the mission can notify the refusal and its reasons through an information and communications network, and if you visit the mission and request it, you receive a visa refusal notice.
• Step 4: After receiving the visa and entering Korea, complete alien registration and an extension of the period of stay within 90 days (manual).

Common Sticking Points

• Income requirement: as of 2026, the inviter's annual income (before tax) for the past 1 year must be at least the amount in the table below. For households of 8 or more, it increases by 5,755,188 KRW per person (manual).

• Only lineal family members who share a household with the Korean spouse on the resident registration, or the invited marriage immigrant, can supplement the income; siblings cannot (manual).
• The income requirement is waived if the couple has a child, if they lived together abroad for 1 year or more and had no domestic income in the last 1 year, or if the foreign spouse has stayed on F-6 with the same spouse without a break in the marriage (manual).
• The residence address must be the same as the address on the resident registration copy, and the place must be owned or rented in the name of the Korean spouse or their lineal family members or siblings. Gosiwon rooms, motels, vinyl greenhouses and similar are not regarded as housing space (manual).
• Unless otherwise specified, submitted documents such as the invitation letter and marriage relation certificate are valid for 3 months from the date of writing or issue (manual).
• If the inviter has a record of domestic violence crimes, sex crimes against children and adolescents, sexual violence crimes or similar, the review checks whether the set period (mostly 10 years, 5 years for a false marriage report) has passed.

This guide is general information and does not assess any individual case. Laws and fees can change, so check the original text via the official links and with the competent office.