Korean Documents for New Zealand

Does Immigration New Zealand require apostilled Korean documents?

INZ's police certificate guidance, the South Korea entry in its country-by-country tool, and its English translation guidance do not ask for an apostille. What INZ sets is the form of the translation. Documents submitted with a residence visa must be in English or carry a certified English translation, and translations by the applicant, family members or the immigration adviser on the application are not accepted. If INZ asks you for a further document during assessment, prepare it as that request says. When another receiving body, such as a school, a registration body or an employer, asks for a Korean document to be authenticated, the method is an apostille, not embassy legalization.

What Korean documents are needed for a New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category or AEWV application?

Each visa has its own document list, so check the INZ page for the visa you are applying for. For a residence visa such as the Skilled Migrant Category, Korean-language academic and professional documents go in with a certified English translation under INZ's translation rule. A certified translation is on the translation business's letterhead if possible, is certified as a correct translation by the translator, and carries the stamp or signature of the translator or translation business. For the AEWV, other work visas and student visas, follow the translation form on that visa's INZ page. INZ's translation guidance does not ask for an apostille on degree certificates or work experience documents.

Do I need an apostilled Korean criminal background check for New Zealand immigration?

INZ's South Korea entry does not mention an apostille. INZ names the Korean document as 'Criminal (Investigation) Record Check Report, or Criminal Records Check Reply and Investigation Records Check Reply'; you apply at your nearest police station if you live in Korea, or at the nearest Korean embassy or consulate if you live outside Korea. If the document is in Korean, it needs an official English translation, and that translation must be certified by a notary who has no relationship to the visa application. In Korea this is usually prepared as a notarized translation (번역공증), but INZ does not name a specific Korean procedure, so ask INZ if you are unsure the form fits. INZ sets the residence threshold that decides which countries' certificates you need and an age limit for the certificate, so check its current guidance.

Is a New Zealand-issued document valid in Korea without additional certification?

New Zealand and Korea are both Hague Convention parties, so when a Korean authority asks for a New Zealand public document to be authenticated, the method is a New Zealand apostille, not legalization at the NZ Embassy. Apostilles on New Zealand documents are done by the Authentication Unit of the Department of Internal Affairs. Ask the Korean receiving body separately what form of Korean translation it accepts.