Inviting relatives to Korea: spouses use F-6, parents F-1-5, visitors C-3

This guide is for Korean citizens and married migrants who want to bring relatives to Korea, and for the relatives. The right visa depends on who is coming and why: a spouse uses the marriage migrant visa F-6 (결혼이민), a married migrant's parent can come on F-1-5 to help with a baby or young child, and short visits use C-3. It follows the Ministry of Justice (법무부) visa and stay manuals updated in October 2026.

Which visa for which relative

The inviter as guarantor

When you invite a spouse, you become their identity guarantor (신원보증인) (Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act, Article 9-4(1); Immigration Act, Article 90). The guarantee is a financial duty. The Ministry can make the guarantor pay all or part of the costs of the foreigner's stay, protection (detention) and departure, claim back costs the state has paid, and ask for a deposit of up to ₩3 million per person (Article 90(2) to (4)). The stay manual recognises a guarantee period of up to 4 years, and a permit cannot run longer than the guarantee. For F-1-5, the guarantee covers 3 years from entry.

The criminal penalty is for false invitations. Inviting someone with false facts or a false guarantee, or applying for a visa with false information, is banned (Immigration Act, Article 7-2) and punishable by up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to ₩30 million (Article 94). The same penalty applies to false documents in stay applications (Article 26).

Inviting a spouse (F-6)

• The marriage must be valid under the law of both countries (Enforcement Rule, Article 9-5(1)2).
• In 2026 the Korean spouse needs pre-tax income of ₩25,195,752 a year for a two-person household (Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2025-534, 법무부고시 제2025-534호). Employment, business, rental, interest, dividend and pension income count. If income falls short, 5% of net assets held for 6 months counts, and lineal family registered in the same household can add income or assets with the statement of family income (가족소득 현황 진술서).
• The foreign spouse needs basic Korean, such as TOPIK level 1 or a 120-hour course, unless an exemption applies.
• A different foreign spouse can be invited only once in 5 years. A domestic violence conviction blocks an invitation for 10 years from the sentence (fines included), not for life.
• For nationals of China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Thailand, the Korean spouse first completes the international marriage guidance program (국제결혼 안내프로그램).
• The Korean spouse submits the income certificate (소득금액증명) and a credit information report (신용정보조회서). Relationship evidence, such as photos and social media chats, goes on up to 5 A4 pages.
• After a refusal, a new application is possible after 6 months, or earlier for childbirth or another urgent need.

A partner staying in Korea on visa-free entry (B-1, B-2) or C-1 to C-4 generally cannot switch to F-6 inside Korea and must apply at an embassy. The exception is when pregnancy, childbirth or raising the couple's child makes a change in Korea unavoidable.

Inviting a married migrant's parents (F-1-5)

• Who invites: the Korean spouse, a married migrant who has Korean nationality or permanent residence (F-5), or a married migrant raising a child alone.
• Who comes: the married migrant's father or mother. If neither parent can come and the invitee has no minor child, a brother, a sister or a child from an earlier marriage.
• When: while the married migrant or the spouse is pregnant, or until the end of September of the year the child turns 9 (12 for single-parent families and families with 3 or more minor children).
• How often: up to 2 invitations per child, one person at a time, but both parents may come together or one after the other.
• Documents: visa application Form No. 17 (별지 제17호서식), passport, photo and fee; the inviter's ID copy, invitation, identity guarantee and a pledge against illegal stay and work; the inviter's basic, family relation and marriage relation certificates, resident registration and the child's family relation certificate, or for a pregnancy a pregnancy diagnosis certificate (임신진단서) or maternal handbook (산모수첩); family records from the home country; and a school certificate for a school-age child.
• In Korea: the first extension runs within 1 year from entry, up to the end of March of the year the youngest child turns 10 (13 for single-parent and multi-child families). Later extensions run up to 1 year each, within 3 years from entry, and are refused if a school-age child is not sent to school.

F-1-5 is also available when the married migrant, the Korean spouse or a child has a serious illness or severe disability. Invitations can be limited for a period if the inviter, or relatives invited earlier, broke immigration law.

Short visits and business trips (C-3)

C-3 covers market research, business contacts, meetings, contracts, tourism, transit, medical treatment, visiting relatives, events and similar purposes for up to 90 days. It cannot be used for profit-making. Installing imported machinery and similar paid work count as profit-making and need C-4 (short-term employment) or D-9 (trade and business). A single-entry visa is valid for 3 months from issue. Basic documents are the application form, passport, photo, fee and an invitation or other proof of purpose; for business, add the inviting company's business registration or corporate register. Each embassy sets details to fit local conditions.

Some nationals need no visa. Thai citizens with ordinary passports can stay up to 90 days under the 1981 visa waiver agreement, which excludes employment, and Thailand is on the official list of K-ETA (전자여행허가) countries, so check the K-ETA site before travel. Uzbek ordinary passport holders need a visa, because the waiver covers diplomatic passports only.

Country checklists and practical tips

• Embassies publish their own checklists. For example, Filipino spouses applying for F-6 submit a CFO training certificate (CFO 교육이수증), and the manual names the PSA marriage certificate and the NBI clearance as Philippine documents.
• Documents issued abroad and filed with an immigration office need an apostille or confirmation by a Korean consulate.
• Spouses from the 35 tuberculosis (TB) high-risk countries submit a TB certificate even when other health certificates are waived. The list includes Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal.
• Korean certificates are valid for 3 months from issue, so do not get them too early.
• Start at least 3 months ahead, and consider a lawyer or a certified administrative agent (행정사) for complex cases.