Certified Translation of the Korean Family Register (가족관계증명서)
Korea issues a free online English version of several family register certificates. It settles many cases — but it does not show your children, and it is not available to everyone. Asiatis translates the Korean versions where the English one is not enough.
Pricing depends on the number of pages in your document. Get your quote online in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineAlso known as
가족관계증명서 — gajok gwan-gye jeungmyeongseo · gajok gwangye jeungmyeongseo · 기본증명서 · 혼인관계증명서 · 입양관계증명서 · 친양자입양관계증명서 · family relation certificate Korea · basic certificate Korea · marriage relation certificate Korea · certificat de relation familiale coréen · traduction registre familial Corée IRCC
What is the gajok gwan-gye jeungmyeongseo?
Since 2008 Korea has replaced the patriarchal family register (호적) with an individual civil status register, from which several distinct certificates are drawn. The 가족관계증명서 shows your parents, your spouse and your children; the 기본증명서 covers you alone — birth, name changes, death; the 혼인관계증명서 sets out marriages and divorces. A Canadian application rarely calls for the same combination as the next one: spousal sponsorship rests on the marriage relation certificate, child sponsorship on the family relation certificate. Each exists in a full (상세) or abridged (일반) version, and the abridged version omits exactly the entries an officer looks for.
Variants of the document
| Name | Type | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 가족관계증명서gajok gwan-gye jeungmyeongseo | Family relation certificate | Shows your parents, your spouse and your children. It is the document for family sponsorship applications. |
| 기본증명서gibon jeungmyeongseo | Basic certificate | Covers you alone: birth, name changes, death entries. Serves as proof of identity and of name history. |
| 혼인관계증명서honin gwan-gye jeungmyeongseo | Marriage relation certificate | Sets out marriages and divorces with their dates. It is the document for spousal sponsorship, and the one that establishes an earlier marriage is dissolved. |
How to obtain the document in South Korea
- 1
Try the free English version first
The Supreme Court's electronic family register system has issued English certificates free of charge online since 27 December 2019. Start there: if it covers what your document checklist asks for, you have nothing to have translated.
- 2
Check what the English version does not show
It brings your details, your parents’ and your spouse’s together in a single document — but it does not show your children. An application that has to establish a link with a child therefore needs the Korean version, translated.
- 3
If online issuance fails
It depends on your Roman-alphabet name being verifiable in passport data. Where a foreign parent or spouse is involved, the system cannot produce it: you must go through an administrative office in Korea or a diplomatic mission, or have the Korean version translated.
- 4
Ask for the full version, not the abridged one
The 일반 (abridged) version omits closed entries — deceased children, earlier marriages, name changes. Ask for the 상세 (full) version: it is the one that answers an officer's questions.
What an acceptable translation requires
IRCC requires any document that is not in English or French to be accompanied by a translation into one of those two languages. The translation must be complete — headings, registration number, closed entries and issuing office seal included — and may not be produced by the applicant, by a family member, or by a representative on the application. Asiatis assigns your certificates to a certified translator who is a member of a Canadian professional order: the translation carries that translator's signed and sealed declaration, the form IRCC asks for. For a Quebec immigration application, the MIFI admits French and English alike, provided the translator belongs to OTTIAQ, ATIO, STIBC or CTINB.
The pitfalls specific to this document
The free English version does not show your children
That is its costliest limitation, and it is nowhere stated prominently. The English certificate brings together you, your parents and your spouse — not your children. Child sponsorship, or any application including dependants, needs the Korean version translated.
The abridged version hides what the officer looks for
The 일반 certificate omits closed entries: a dissolved earlier marriage, a deceased child, a name change. Those are precisely the items that explain a discrepancy between two documents in your application. Take the 상세.
The passport spelling governs any romanization
A Korean name can be romanized several equally correct ways — Kim, Gim; Lee, Yi, Rhee. The translation follows the spelling in your passport, failing which your application carries two identities an officer has to reconcile.
The register changed in 2008: before that, it is another document
Events before 2008 do not always appear in the current register. What carries them is the 제적등본, the closed former family register — a separate document, with no English version, often written in Chinese characters.
What you receive
- Complete certified translation of the certificates, closed entries included
- Names romanized identically to your passport, from one document to the next
- Dates and registration numbers rendered without reformatting
- Translator's signed and sealed declaration, meeting IRCC requirements
- PDF delivery — the digital format is enough for IRCC; paper copy on request
Pricing depends on the number of pages in your document. Get your quote online in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineFrequently asked questions
Is the free English version enough for IRCC?
Often yes, but not always. It brings together your details, your parents’ and your spouse’s, and has been free online since 2019. It does not, however, show your children, and it cannot be issued where a foreign parent or spouse is involved. In those cases the Korean version has to be translated.
How much does it cost to translate my Korean certificates?
The price depends on the number of pages: each certificate runs to one or two, and an application often calls for two or three. Upload them to our online quote form to get the price in a few minutes, with no commitment.
Get my quote onlineWhich certificate do I have to provide?
It depends on what you need to prove. The 가족관계증명서 for a family link, the 혼인관계증명서 for a marriage or divorce, the 기본증명서 for your identity and name changes. When in doubt, send us what you have and we will tell you what it is.
Do I need the 일반 or the 상세 version?
The 상세, the full one. The abridged version omits closed entries — a dissolved earlier marriage, a deceased child, a name change — which are exactly what an officer looks for to explain a discrepancy between two documents.
My documents concern events before 2008. Are they in this register?
Not necessarily. Korea replaced its family register in 2008; earlier events often appear in the 제적등본, the closed former register. That one has no English version and must be translated.