Notarising Immigration Documents for a South Korea Visa Application from Australia

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Korean visa rules, and the instructions of recruitment programmes such as EPIK, change each intake. The Korean Embassy or consulate for your state and your programme's own guide govern.

South Korea is the country on this list where Australians most often do need a notary and an apostille, and the reason is one visa: the E-2 visa for teaching English. For most other Korean visas, the Australian paperwork is lighter than people expect. This page takes the E-2 first, because getting its documents wrong can cost a placement.

Short visits

The Korean Embassy in Australia has announced that Australian passport holders are exempt from the Korean electronic travel authorisation (K-ETA) for a period ending 31 December 2026. Check the embassy's current notice before travelling, since the exemption has been extended by notice rather than made permanent. Either way, a short visit involves no notarised documents.

E-2: teaching English

Programmes that place English teachers in Korean public schools, such as EPIK, publish a document guide for each intake. The current guide sets out three apostilled documents for Australians.

1. The police check: AFP, apostilled, recent

• It must be the Australian Federal Police check. The guide says checks below national level are not accepted, so a state police check will not do.
• Any former names must appear on it.
• It must be dated within a window measured back from the contract start date. Order it too early and it expires before you start; the guide states the window.
• It needs a physical apostille on the physical certificate. Plan how you will obtain a paper certificate that DFAT can apostille, not just a PDF.

A police certificate is a government document. DFAT can generally legalise documents issued by Australian police forces directly, without a notary. Confirm with DFAT for the format of certificate you hold.

2. The degree: an apostilled copy

The guide asks for an apostilled copy of your bachelor's degree and strongly recommends a notarised copy apostilled, rather than the original. That is sensible: an apostille is attached to the document, and you probably want your original testamur back.

The usual chain is:

1. A notary certifies a copy of your testamur against the original, which you bring in person
2. DFAT apostilles the notary's signature and seal

DFAT's published guidance now says a notarised copy of a university document must also be verified by the university, and that the notary coordinates this. Ask the notary about it when booking, because university verification adds time.

3. The birth certificate

The guide also asks Australians for an apostilled birth certificate. If you were born overseas, it asks instead for an apostilled Australian registration of birth abroad, or apostilled naturalisation papers. A birth certificate from a state or territory registry is a public document that DFAT can generally apostille directly.

Details that trip people up

• Each document must be apostilled separately, not bundled.
• The apostille must be in English or come with an official English translation. An Australian apostille is issued in English, so this mainly affects applicants whose documents come from elsewhere.
• Private academies (hagwons) recruit through their own agents, and their instructions may differ. Ask for them in writing.

F-6: marriage to a Korean citizen

The Korean Embassy's page for the F-6-1 visa asks for the original Australian marriage certificate, and says a JP-certified copy is acceptable. That is unusual: most foreign bodies do not recognise a Justice of the Peace. For this purpose the embassy says it does. The page does not ask for an apostille.

Two conditions matter more than certification. The embassy requires F-6-1 applications to be lodged in person in Canberra, not by post. And it says documents are valid for three months from issue, so a certificate ordered a year ago may need replacing. The Korean spouse supplies Korean family-registry documents.

Students and working holidays

The embassy's pages for student visas (D-2 and D-4) list admission documents from the Korean institution, with no apostille, notarisation or translation. The working holiday visa (H-1) asks for a medical report, an activity plan and bank records, again with no apostille or notarised copies. The embassy may ask for more in a particular case.

If you convert or extend a visa in Korea

Korean immigration offices apply their own requirements when you change status inside Korea. A Seoul Immigration Office guide says foreign documents such as criminal records and degrees must be apostilled or verified at a Korean consulate, and generally issued within the previous three months. If there is any chance you will change visa once in Korea, find out which Australian documents that will need before you leave. Arranging an apostille from Korea means dealing with DFAT from overseas.

Apostille status

South Korea has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 2007. Confirm its status against the HCCH status table on the day. The Korean consulate in Sydney refers people to DFAT for apostilles. Korean missions do not issue them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a state police check for EPIK? No. The current EPIK guide requires the national AFP check and rejects checks below national level.

Should I apostille my original degree or a copy? EPIK recommends a notarised copy, apostilled. That leaves you with your original.

Does my marriage certificate need an apostille for an F-6 visa? The Korean Embassy's F-6-1 page asks for the original or a JP-certified copy and does not mention an apostille. Follow any further request from the embassy.

Do I need a notary for a Korean working holiday visa? Not according to the embassy's current document list.