F6 · Visa

Marriage Immigrant (F6)

Applicable person and scope of activity
Subtypes
Spouse (F6-1)
Grant of status of stay
Service

Applicable person and scope of activity

A foreigner who married a Korean can have an F6 (F-6) visa.

No major activity restriction for F6 visa holders.

The period of stay is up to 3 years and can be extended. However, F6-1 and F6-2 visa holders will have only 90 days at first and must register as a foreigner and apply to extend the period of stay at the same time. If you have already completed the early adoption program (조기적응프로그램) and apply to extend the period of stay after that, you will have 2 years as the period of stay.

Subtypes

F6 visa has subtypes below. F6-3 visa holders cannot apply for a visa overseas but allow to apply fo a visa change in Korea.

Spouse (F6-1): a foreigner who married a Korean national legally and keeps the marriage now.
Raising child (F6-2): a foreigner who married a Korean national legally or practically (de-facto) and want to raise her minor child in Korea after terminating the marriage.
Former spouse (F6-3): a foreigner who married a Korean legally but terminated the marriage without the spouse's own fault.

Spouse (F6-1)

Requirements in detail can vary by the nationality of a foreign spouse.

A Korean spouse (inviter) must meet the requirement regarding annual income, residence, no criminal record, and health. Additionally, the Korean spouse must complete the international marriage guidance program (국제결혼안내프로그램) if a foreign spouse is a national of specific countries below. However, some requirements can be exempted in case of pregnancy and childbirth.

China
Vietnam
Philippines
Cambodia
Mongolia
Uzbekistan
Thailand

A foreign spouse must meet the requirement regarding Korean language proficiency, no criminal record, and health. However, some requirements can be exempted in case of pregnancy and childbirth.

Both parties basically must meet additional requirements like genuine dating to forbid fake marriage and age, etc. to forbid void marriage. Marriage registration at the Korean office is required. Marriage registration at the foreign country office is recommended to check legal validity and dual marriage.

I recommend a specific method to register a marriage.

Register a marriage at the administrative office in a foreign country. Mostly in the home country of a foreign spouse but some countries of residence allow the marriage registration regardless of nationality.
Register a marriage at the Korean consulate in the same country.

You can apply for an F6-1 visa without the visa certificate. Required documents can vary by the nationality of a foreign spouse.

Short-term visa (B, C) holders, illegal immigrants, criminals (except fines), and those who get an extension of period of stay for departure cannot change to an F6-1 visa.