How do I get a Korean marriage visa (F-6) with a spouse from France? Marriage registration steps and documents

To live in Korea with your French spouse, you need a marriage visa (F-6, spouse visa). The steps are: ① marry in Korea or France (if you married at a French mairie first, report it to Korea within 3 months) ② get an apostille and Korean translation for your French documents (France does not need embassy consular confirmation) ③ meet the income, housing and communication requirements and apply for the visa.

At a glance

• Your visa: F-6 marriage migrant (spouse) visa
• First stay period: Up to 3 years, then extend
• French documents: Apostille + Korean translation
• Marriage registration: Must be valid in both Korea and France
• Where to apply: Based on where your spouse is

In short: marry in Korea or France → apostille and translation → apply for the marriage visa. If you marry in France, plan your schedule around submitting documents to the mairie and the marriage banns period first.

Steps

A · France first — Marry in France → report to Korea

(When you can both be in France together)

1. Get the Korean spouse's documents, such as the basic certificate (기본증명서), get apostilles, and have them translated by a French sworn translator (traducteur assermenté).
2. Submit the marriage documents to the mairie where one of you or one of your parents lives (at least 1 month of residence). You'll also be asked for proof of eligibility to marry (certificat de coutume · certificat de célibat).
3. After an interview at the mairie (audition) and 10 days of posted banns, hold your wedding at the mairie.
4. Get an apostille on the French marriage certificate and translate it into Korean.
5. Within 3 months, report the marriage to a city or district office (시·구청) in Korea or to the Korean Embassy in France.

B · Korea first — Register in Korea → record in France

(When the French spouse is in Korea)

1. Prepare the French spouse's passport and birth certificate (acte de naissance).
2. Get apostilles on the French documents and translate them into Korean.
3. French citizens must go through the French consulate's Certificate of Capacity to Marry (CCAM) procedure before marrying abroad, so check this step first.
4. Register your marriage at a city or district office (시·구청) in Korea.
5. Once the marriage is also recorded in French civil status records, it's settled in both countries.

Document certification

France is a member of the Apostille Convention, so a single apostille lets you use documents in other countries without embassy confirmation. But Korean documents need a French translation.

• Using French documents in Korea: Issued in France → Apostille from the competent French authority → Korean translation → Submit in Korea
• Using Korean documents in France: Issued in Korea → Overseas Koreans Agency (재외동포청) apostille → French translation → Submit to the French mairie

Korea vs. home country

• Minimum age to marry — Korea: 18 for both men and women / France: 18 for both men and women
• Where to register the marriage — Korea: City or district office (시·구청) (an embassy if abroad) / France: Marriage before an official at the mairie
• Using foreign documents — Korea: French documents → apostille + Korean translation / France: Korean documents → apostille + French translation
• How you marry — Korea: Report by submitting documents / France: Submit documents, then a ceremony at the mairie after 10 days of banns
• If you married in another country — Korea: Report to Korea within 3 months / France: Record the marriage in French civil status records (transcription)

What the visa review checks

• Guidance program: France is not one of the countries whose spouses require the international marriage guidance program (국제결혼 안내프로그램).
• Income: The Korean spouse's income must meet the standard. The standard amount changes every year.
• Communication: The foreign spouse needs basic Korean, or the two of you must be able to talk in a shared language.
• A home together: You need a home where you'll live together (owned, jeonse lease or monthly rent).
• A genuine relationship: Shown through how you met, your contact records and photos. If you apply in France, there may be an interview at the embassy.

Common reasons for delays or refusal

• Missed the mairie schedule: You set a wedding date without allowing for document submission and the banns period
• Translation doesn't meet requirements: The French translation of Korean documents wasn't done the way the mairie requires
• Unclear income or housing documents: Your income history is short, or your housing proof isn't clear
• Weak proof of communication: Not enough evidence of Korean ability or a shared language

Documents to prepare

• Korean spouse: Passport, basic certificate (기본증명서), family relation certificate (가족관계증명서), marriage relation certificate (혼인관계증명서) (detailed), income and employment documents, housing documents
• French spouse: Passport, birth certificate (acte de naissance) and marriage certificate (apostille + translation), criminal record documents (if required)
• Both of you: A statement of how you met, photos and contact records, evidence that you can communicate
• How documents are certified: French documents: apostille + Korean translation. Korean documents: apostille + French translation

Key terms

• Marriage banns (publication des bans): The step where the French mairie posts your plan to marry for 10 days before the wedding.
• Mairie (town hall): The office that handles weddings and marriage records in France. You marry at the mairie where one of you or one of your parents lives.
• Apostille: A certificate that confirms a document is genuine without a trip to the embassy. Both France and Korea use it.
• Visa Issuance Confirmation: A visa approval the spouse in Korea gets in advance. With it, you can get your visa in France faster.

FAQ

Q. What documents do I need for the French spouse visa?

The Korean spouse needs a passport, basic certificate (기본증명서), family relation certificate (가족관계증명서) and marriage relation certificate (혼인관계증명서) (detailed), income and employment documents, and housing documents. The French spouse needs a passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate, and French documents need an apostille and Korean translation. You also submit a statement of how you met, plus photos and contact records.