The new documents are called the “family relationship certificate” (가족관계증명서), the “marriage relationship certificate” (혼인관계증명서) and the “basic certificate” (기본증명서).įor immigration purposes, a married person should obtain and submit a family relationship certificate and a marriage relationship certificate (the basic certificate is optional), along with certified translations of these. However, the system was revamped in 2008 and given a new name: family relationship registration system (가족관계등록부), and the documents issued under this system have changed. Under this system, the primary document for handling official personal matters was a certified copy of the family register (호적 등본). In addition to the head of household, the family unit would include the head of household’s spouse, unmarried children, and possibly other relatives, such as a widowed mother. These records were based on a family unit concept, with one person (usually the oldest male) functioning as the head of household. A person was removed from this register only upon death or forfeiture of citizenship.

In the past, important events in every Korean’s life were recorded in the Korean family register (호적부). However, this certificate is only used for registering the baby in the registry and is not used for official business after that. A Korean birth certificate is issued by a Korean hospital when a baby is born. The term “Korean birth certificate” refers to a group of documents, none of them an actual “birth certificate.” In fact, you do not need to submit an actual “Korean birth certificate” in the immigration process.

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