F-6 spouse visa in 2026: the Korean inviter needs ₩25,195,752 a year

This guide is for Korean citizens who want to bring a foreign spouse to Korea on the marriage migrant visa F-6 (결혼이민), and for the spouse. The Korean partner, called the inviter (초청인), must show enough income for the past year. The figures below apply to applications made in 2026. The Ministry of Justice (법무부) sets new figures every year.

The 2026 income thresholds

The rule comes from Article 9-5(1)4 of the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act (출입국관리법 시행규칙). It lets the Ministry of Justice set a yearly income requirement based on the standard median income (기준 중위소득). Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2025-534 (법무부고시 제2025-534호), in force from January 1, 2026, sets the inviter's minimum income before tax for the 12 months before the visa application date.

For a two-person household, the 2026 figure equals ₩2,099,646 a month on average (the annual amount divided by 12). The figures for 2027 had not been published as of October 23, 2026, so check for a new notice before you apply in 2027.

Counting your household

• If no other family member lives with you, the household is 2 persons: you and your foreign spouse.
• Add lineal family members (직계가족) registered in the same household on your resident registration record (주민등록표), such as a child from an earlier marriage or a parent.
• Lineal family means parents, grandparents, children and so on. Brothers and sisters are not lineal family and do not count.

Example: you live with your mother and a child from an earlier marriage, and both are registered in your household. With your spouse, that is 4 persons, so the 2026 minimum is ₩38,968,428.

What counts as income

Only the total of these incomes earned in the past year counts: employment income, business income (including farming, forestry and fishery income), real estate rental income, interest, dividends and pensions. Irregular income outside these types is left out.

Business income is judged by the income certificate (소득금액증명) of the National Tax Service (국세청). If your real income was higher than the amount on the certificate, the Ministry's manual tells you to file an amended tax return first and submit the corrected certificate. Business income is reported each May for the previous year, so the most recent year on the certificate is accepted if you still run the same business. The office may carry out an on-site check (실태조사).

Topping up with assets or family income

If your income falls short, 5% of your assets counts as income. Assets include deposits, insurance, securities, bonds and real estate. Only assets held for at least 6 months since you acquired them count, and only the net amount after debts. The visa manual adds that deposits, insurance, securities and bonds count only if they are ₩1,000,000 or more and have been held for 6 months or more. For real estate, submit the register extract (등기부등본) and the official price sheet (공시가격표).

The notice gives this example for a two-person household: income of ₩20,000,000 plus 5% of assets of ₩120,000,000 (₩6,000,000) makes ₩26,000,000, which meets the 2026 minimum of ₩25,195,752.

You can also use:

• the income or assets of lineal family members registered in your household;
• the foreign spouse's income earned in Korea over the past year, or assets the spouse holds in Korea.

You may combine your own and your family's income and assets. In that case, fill in the statement of family income of the inviter (외국인 배우자 초청인의 가족소득 현황 진술서) and attach proof for each item.

Who is exempt from the income rule

• The couple has a child born to them.
• After a legal marriage (a de facto marriage does not count), the couple lived together abroad for 1 year or more, so the inviter could not have Korean income in the past year.
• The foreign spouse stayed in Korea before with F-6 status, with the same Korean spouse, and the marriage was never interrupted. The visa manual lists this case.
• Other cases the Minister of Justice specially recognises.

Pregnancy alone does not remove the income requirement. It exempts the couple from the international marriage guidance program and some health and criminal record certificates, but the manual still lists the income documents for that group. To claim an exemption, submit proof, such as the child's family relation certificate (or a birth certificate if the child does not yet have Korean nationality) or records of living together abroad.

Documents for the income requirement

1. Income certificate (소득금액증명), original, from Hometax (홈택스), the National Tax Service website, or a tax office. Everyone who relies on income must submit it.
2. Credit information report (신용정보조회서) from the website of the Korea Credit Information Services (한국신용정보원). This is also required.
3. For employment income: the employment income withholding record (근로소득 원천징수부), an employment certificate (재직증명서) and a copy of the business registration certificate.
4. For business income: a copy of your business registration certificate (people in farming, forestry and fishery are excepted).
5. For other income: for rent, the register extract and the lease contract; for interest, bank statements.

Write your income and assets on the invitation letter for a foreign spouse, Form No. 19-2 (별지 제19호의2서식) of the Enforcement Rule. Documents are valid for 3 months from the issue date unless another period is set.

Other conditions and refusals

Income is one of several checks. The foreign spouse needs basic Korean or another language the couple shares, the couple needs a normal home, and the inviter must not have invited a different foreign spouse in the past 5 years. If your spouse is a national of China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan or Thailand, you must first complete the international marriage guidance program (국제결혼 안내프로그램), unless an exemption applies.

If the visa is refused, the applicant can apply again 6 months after the refusal. An earlier application is allowed for childbirth or another urgent need to enter Korea (Enforcement Rule, Article 9-5(3)).