🇦🇺 Australia — Department of Home Affairs (DIBP)

Australia Partner Visa (820/801) — Korean Documents Required

Australia's Partner Visa (Subclass 820 onshore / 309 offshore) allows the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen to live and work in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs' pages for subclasses 820 and 309 do not mention an apostille and say you do not need to have any documents certified. What Home Affairs asks for is an English translation of each non-English document, the original and the translation submitted together, and colour scans or photographs.

Required Korean Documents

Basic Certificate (Birth Certificate)

기본증명서Required

As identity evidence, Home Affairs asks for a birth certificate showing the names of both parents or, if you cannot provide one, a family book showing both parents' names, a government-issued identification document, a court-issued document, or a family census register. Korea has no single birth certificate, so prepare the 기본증명서, which records your birth details, together with the 가족관계증명서, which names both parents. This mapping is ours; Home Affairs does not name Korean documents. No apostille is asked for. Submit a colour scan of the original with its English translation.

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Family Relations Certificate

가족관계증명서Required

Shows the names of both parents. Together with the 기본증명서, it answers Home Affairs' identity line (a birth certificate showing both parents' names, or a family book or family census register). It also serves as evidence of your relationship with a child applying with you. No apostille is asked for. Submit the original with its English translation.

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Criminal Background Check

범죄·수사경력 회보서Required

Home Affairs' entry for South Korea accepts either two certificates, the Criminal Record Check Report (범죄경력회보서) and the Investigation Record Check Report (수사경력회보서), or the combined Criminal (Investigation) Record Check Report (범죄·수사경력회보서). The issuer is the Korean National Police Agency: online at crims.police.go.kr (choose the purpose 'For permission of foreign country immigration and stay' and the language English), at a police station in Korea, or at a Korean mission outside Korea. Asked of applicants who have spent a total of 12 months or more in Korea in the last 10 years since turning 16. If you served in the military, also provide your service records or discharge papers (병적증명서). No apostille is asked for.

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May Also Be Required

Marriage Certificate

혼인관계증명서

Applies if you are married. Home Affairs asks for your marriage certificate or other evidence that your marriage is valid in Australia. De facto partners provide evidence of the de facto relationship instead of a 혼인관계증명서. No apostille is asked for. Submit the original with its English translation.

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Step-by-Step Process

1
Korean partner lodges the partner visa application online — Subclass 820 if in Australia, or Subclass 309 if outside Australia
2
Australian sponsor lodges a sponsorship application with Home Affairs — Home Affairs says to do this as soon as possible after the visa application
3
Obtain your Korean documents, have the non-English ones translated into English, and submit colour scans or photographs of the originals and translations — Home Affairs says you do not need to have any documents certified
4
Complete the mandatory health examination
5
Provide evidence of the genuine and ongoing relationship — photos, shared finances, joint lease, correspondence, etc.
6
Home Affairs assesses the temporary visa first (820/309); you become eligible for consideration of the permanent visa (801/100) two years after you first applied for the temporary and permanent partner visas

Tips & Common Mistakes

For married couples, the 혼인관계증명서 is the document establishing the marriage — if there was a previous marriage, Home Affairs also asks for divorce documents or a death certificate, so we recommend the detailed version showing marriage history
De facto (unmarried) relationship applicants cannot prove the relationship with a 혼인관계증명서 — Home Affairs asks for evidence of the de facto relationship itself; discuss with a registered migration agent if needed
Translator rules depend on where the translator is — translators in Australia must be NAATI-accredited; translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited, but on each translation must give their full name, address and telephone number, and qualifications and experience in the language, in English
Police certificates are required from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16 — not just Korea
If a body other than Home Affairs (a university, a professional registration body, an employer, a court) separately asks for authentication of a Korean document, the method is an apostille, not embassy legalization — the Overseas Koreans Agency (재외동포청) issues it for public documents and the Ministry of Justice (법무부) for notarized private documents

Frequently Asked Questions

Do both partners need to submit Korean documents, or just the Korean partner?

Only the Korean partner (the visa applicant) needs to submit their own Korean civil documents. The Australian sponsor provides their own identity documents (Australian passport, birth certificate, etc.) and evidence of their status as an Australian citizen or PR.

How long does the partner visa process take?

Processing times differ from one application to the next. Home Affairs says partner visa applicants may experience longer processing times than expected and points to its visa processing time guide tool for the times of recently decided applications. You become eligible for consideration of the permanent visa (801/100) two years after you first applied for the temporary and permanent partner visas. How long it takes to obtain and translate your Korean documents depends on which documents and how many, so check ahead against your application plan.

🇺🇸

K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa

United States

🇦🇺

Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189)

Australia

🇨🇦

Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker / CEC / FST)

Canada

🇦🇺 All apostille services for Australia

Documents, services, and requirements for sending Korean documents to Australia

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