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

To live in Korea with your Korean spouse, you need a spouse visa (F-6). The steps are: ① make your marriage valid in both countries, with a marriage certificate from the state where you married or a marriage registration at a Korean city or district office ② get an apostille from that state's Secretary of State for your US documents and translate them into Korean ③ apply for the visa with income, housing and communication evidence.

At a glance

• Your visa: F-6 marriage migrant (spouse) visa
• First stay period: Up to 3 years, then extend
• US documents: State apostille + translation
• Marriage registration: Must be valid in both Korea and the US
• Where to apply: Based on where you are

Steps

A · US first — Marry in the US → report to Korea

(When you are both in the US)

1. Get a marriage license from the County Clerk where you will marry.
2. Hold the ceremony the way your state requires and complete the signatures.
3. Get a certified copy of your marriage certificate from the county.
4. Get an apostille from the state and translate it into Korean.
5. Within 3 months, report the marriage to a Korean embassy or consulate in the US, or to a city or district office in Korea.

B · Korea first — Register the marriage in Korea

(When you are in Korea)

1. Prepare your passport.
2. Get a sworn affidavit on marriage eligibility at the US Embassy in Seoul.
3. Translate the affidavit into Korean.
4. Register your marriage at a city or district office in Korea.
5. Translate the Korean marriage relation certificate into English so you can also use it for US paperwork.

Document certification

The US is a member of the Apostille Convention. But the apostille comes from the state that issued the document, not from the federal government.

• Using US documents in Korea: Issued by the county → Secretary of State apostille → Korean translation → Submit in Korea
• Using Korean documents in the US: Issued in Korea → Apostille if needed → English translation → Submit in the US

Korea vs. home country

• Minimum age to marry — Korea: 18 for both men and women / United States: Varies by state (18 in most)
• How you marry — Korea: Submit a marriage report to a city or district office / United States: Marriage license from the county → ceremony → marriage certificate
• Using foreign documents — Korea: US documents → state apostille + translation / United States: Korean documents → English translation
• Marrying in Korea — Korea: Family relation certificates / United States: Affidavit at the US Embassy in Seoul and other marriage-eligibility documents
• If you married in another country — Korea: Report to Korea within 3 months / United States: Recognized if valid under the law of the place you married

What the visa review checks

• Guidance program: The US is not one of the countries whose spouses require the international marriage guidance program.
• Income: Your Korean spouse's income must meet the standard. If it was earned in the US, how to prove it needs to be checked separately.
• Communication: You need basic Korean, or the two of you must be able to talk in a shared language such as English.
• A home together: You need a home in Korea where you'll live together (owned, jeonse lease or monthly rent).
• A genuine relationship: Shown through how you met, your messages and photos. If you apply in the US, there may be an interview at the consulate.

Common reasons for delays or refusal

• Hard to prove overseas income: Your Korean spouse works in the US and has no Korean income documents, or only a short income history
• Missing apostille: You only got the county document and skipped the state apostille
• Weak proof of communication: Not enough evidence of a shared language or Korean ability
• Names don't match: Your English name is spelled differently on your passport, marriage certificate and Korean documents

Documents to prepare

• You (US spouse): Passport, marriage certificate (apostille + translation), criminal record check such as an FBI background check (if required)
• Your Korean spouse: Passport, basic certificate, family relation certificate, marriage relation certificate (detailed), income and employment documents, housing documents
• Both of you: A statement of how you met, photos and message records, evidence that you can communicate
• How documents are certified: US documents: state apostille + Korean translation. Korean documents: English translation

Key terms

• Marriage license: The permit you get from the county before the ceremony. You need it to marry in the US.
• Marriage certificate: The record of your marriage registered with the county after the ceremony. You use it to report the marriage to Korea.
• Apostille: A certificate that confirms a document is genuine without a trip to the embassy. In the US, the state issues it.
• Visa Issuance Confirmation: A visa approval your Korean spouse gets in advance in Korea. With it, you can get your visa in the US faster.

FAQ

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

Your Korean spouse needs a passport, basic, family relation and marriage relation certificates (detailed), income and employment documents, and housing documents. You need a passport and your marriage certificate, which gets a state apostille and is then translated into Korean. A criminal record check is added if required, and you both submit a statement of how you met, plus photos and message records.