To live in Korea with your Japanese spouse, you need a marriage visa (F-6). The steps are: ① register your marriage in both Korea and Japan ② get an apostille on Japanese documents such as the koseki tohon and translate them into Korean (Japan does not need embassy consular confirmation) ③ gather income, housing and communication evidence and apply for the visa. K-VISA quotes its fee after reviewing your requirements, and we refund 100% of the fee if the visa is denied due to K-VISA's fault.
In short: register your marriage in both countries → apostille and translation for the koseki tohon → apply for the marriage visa. Certifying Japanese documents is fairly simple, so what you need to watch is translation and the income requirement. We take care of the rest.
The number of marriages between Korean men and Japanese women in 2024.
Statistics Korea 2024 marriage statisticsJapanese documents are certified with a single apostille, without embassy confirmation.
Apostille Convention memberIf you marry in Japan first, the marriage must also be reported to Korea within 3 months.
Korean Family Relationship Registration ActWhat the visa review checks: income, a home to share, and whether you can communicate
Korean Ministry of Justice F-6 standardsIt looks complicated, but you only need to remember three steps. ① Marriage registration → ② Document certification → ③ Visa application
Japan is a member of the Apostille Convention, so a single apostille lets you use documents in other countries without embassy confirmation.
| 🇰🇷 Korea | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age to marry | 18 for both men and women | 18 for both men and women |
| Where to register the marriage | City or district office (시·구청) (an embassy if abroad) | City, ward, town or village office (役所) |
| Using foreign documents | Japanese documents → apostille + translation | Korean documents → Japanese translation |
| Identity documents | Family relation documents | Koseki tohon (戸籍謄本) |
| If you married in another country | Report to Korea within 3 months | The marriage is entered in the Japanese family register (koseki) |
K-VISA's service fee depends on where your spouse is and on your documents and requirements, so we quote it after reviewing your requirements. Actual costs such as government fees, translation and apostilles are separate. Consultation and pre-check are free, and we refund 100% of the fee if the visa is denied due to K-VISA's fault.
After registering the marriage in both countries, you either get a Visa Issuance Confirmation (사증발급인정서) in Korea or apply for the marriage visa (F-6) at the Korean Embassy or a Korean Consulate General in Japan. If your spouse is already in Korea, we check whether she can switch to a marriage visa at the immigration office (출입국사무소). Once the visa is issued, your spouse enters Korea and completes alien registration.
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 Japanese spouse needs a passport and koseki tohon, and the koseki tohon gets an apostille and is then translated into Korean. Criminal record and health documents are added if required, and you also submit a statement of how you met, plus photos and contact records.
Either is possible. If you are both in Japan, couples often start at a Japanese government office; if your spouse is in Korea, they often start in Korea. The better order depends on your situation, so we decide it first in the free pre-check.
No. Japan is a member of the Apostille Convention, so you get an apostille from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translate the documents into Korean. Embassy consular confirmation is not needed.
You must report it within 3 months. Translate the certificate of acceptance of marriage registration from the Japanese government office and submit it to a city or district office (시·구청) in Korea or a Korean diplomatic mission in Japan.
The koseki tohon (戸籍謄本) is Japan's family register record, similar to Korea's family relation certificate (가족관계증명서). With an apostille and a Korean translation, you can use it for marriage registration and the visa application in Korea. Missing translations or differently spelled names can easily cause problems, so we check them for you first.
Even if your income falls short of the standard, we check whether assets or other evidence can make up the difference. K-VISA has handled cases where income was short, made up the difference and got the visa approved.
If you've already registered the marriage, it takes 5–8 weeks on average. If you're starting from marriage registration, it takes about 3–4 months on average (based on K-VISA's working time; immigration review time is separate).
Check that it is a registered immigration application agency (출입국민원 대행기관), that it publishes real approved Japanese marriage visa cases and reviews, that it can handle Japanese documents (koseki, certificate of acceptance of marriage registration, etc.) and translation, that it can communicate with your spouse in Japanese, and that the contract states its responsibility if the visa is denied. K-VISA is a registered immigration application agency (No. 19-IC-RG-041) that publishes 10 approved Japanese marriage visa cases and interview reviews from Korean–Japanese couples (as of October 2026), and communicates with your spouse directly in Japanese. We refund 100% of the fee if the visa is denied due to K-VISA's fault.
You complete the missing documents or requirements and apply again. And if the visa is denied due to K-VISA's fault, we refund 100% of the fee.
Sources: Sources: Statistics Korea 2024 marriage statistics (1,176 marriages between Korean men and Japanese women), Korean Ministry of Justice standards for the marriage migrant (F-6) visa, Korean Act on the Registration of Family Relationships (reporting a marriage made abroad), and the Civil Code of Japan. Detailed standards may change with amendments to laws and notices, and individual cases are confirmed in consultation.
Updated 2026.10.20