Japan Spouse Visa

Last verified June 14, 2026 against official ISA/MOFA sources

Japan spouse visa:
South Korea

Country-specific steps

Country guides cover the parts that depend on your nationality: the documents, legalisations, and consular steps. For some countries this work begins before the COE. For the overall process and the COE itself, start with the main guide.

Processing time at the consulate

The Japanese visa takes about 5 business days after the COE. Korean family-registry certificates are quick to obtain, so the main wait is the COE itself.

Main mission

Family-registry certificates: the Korean Embassy in Tokyo or a Korean Consulate-General in Japan. The visa: a Japanese mission in Korea (Seoul, Busan, or Jeju) with jurisdiction over where you live.

Where to apply

Apply at the mission with jurisdiction over your residential address — official embassy site .

General documents

  • Valid passport (original).
  • Completed and signed Japan Visa Application Form (fill every field; write "N/A" where it does not apply).
  • One recent passport photo to the mission's specification.
  • Certificate of Eligibility (COE): original or printed copy.

South Korea-specific documents

  • Basic certificate (기본증명서) and marriage-relationship certificate (혼인관계증명서), both in the detailed (상세) version, from a Korean district office or the Korean Embassy or a Consulate-General in Japan (about ¥130 per copy). Each needs a Japanese translation.
  • For the COE and visa, the translated Korean family register that records the marriage may be submitted instead of a standalone marriage certificate, under the Immigration Services Agency's allowance for Korean nationals.
  • To marry in Korea, the Japanese partner's certificate of legal capacity to marry from the Embassy of Japan in Korea. It is issued the same day, both partners must apply together in person, and the Japanese partner brings a koseki issued within three months.
  • To report the marriage to the Korean side after marrying in Japan: the marriage report form, the Japanese koseki (or marriage-acceptance certificate) showing the marriage with a translation, and your detailed Korean family certificates. Attachments must be issued within three months.

Document authentication

  • No apostille is required for Korean documents used in Japan. The spouse-visa checklist and the city offices ask for a Japanese translation only.
  • Apostille becomes relevant only in the other direction, when a Japanese document is used by an authority in Korea.

Submitting your application

  • Order your detailed Korean family certificates from a Korean district office or the Korean mission in Japan, and prepare a Japanese translation of each.
  • Register the marriage: at the Japanese city office with the Korean certificates, or at a Korean district office with the Japanese certificate of legal capacity. Then report the marriage to the other country so both registers match. After marrying in Korea, report to a Japanese authority within three months.
  • Apply for the COE in Japan once the marriage is recorded, using the translated Korean family register if you do not have a separate marriage certificate.
  • Apply for the visa at the Japanese mission in Korea with jurisdiction over where you live. It usually issues in about five business days.

Expert tips

  • Order the detailed (상세) version of the basic and marriage-relationship certificates. The abbreviated version leaves out the history the city office and Immigration want to see.
  • Your Japanese spouse can collect your Korean certificates from the Korean mission in Japan by presenting the koseki, your registered domicile (등록기준지), and photo ID.
  • Use the family-register allowance for the COE. You do not need a separate marriage certificate if the translated family register shows the marriage.
  • The Immigration Services Agency publishes its questionnaire (質問書) in Korean, which makes that part of the COE file easier.
  • Keep your name's romanisation consistent across the passport, the visa application, and the translations.

Common mistakes

  • Ordering the abbreviated family certificate instead of the detailed (상세) version.
  • Registering the marriage in only one country, so you stay legally single in the other.
  • Expecting a single certificate of legal capacity to marry, which Korea does not issue.
  • A translation that leaves off the translation date or the translator's name and address.
  • Name romanisation that does not match between the passport and the Korean register.

Translations: Korean documents need a Japanese translation. Put the translation date, the translator's name, and the translator's address on each translation; you may translate them yourself. No apostille or certification is required for the marriage registration or the spouse visa.

Sources