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Legalisation of documents from South Korea for use in the Netherlands

If you want to use a document from South Korea in the Netherlands, you must first have it legalised by the South Korean authorities. This is done with an apostille. This is a simplified form of legalisation which allows you to use your documents in the Netherlands.

Attention: If you want to use a Dutch document in South Korea, see Legalisation of Dutch documents for use abroad.

Good to know

  • Documents in Korean must be translated for use in the Netherlands.
  • Your document must be original and complete. If it refers to other documents or annexes, these must be included.

Legalisation of documents in Korean is a two-step process.

Step 1: Having your document translated

If your document is in Korean, you must have it translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.

  1. Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
  2. Have the original and the translation legalised with an apostille.

Go to step 2.

  1. Have the original document legalised with an apostille in South Korea.
  2. Have the legalised document translated by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. You do not need to have the translation legalised. You can find a sworn translator on the Legal Aid Council website.

Go to step 2.

Step 2: Legalisation of your document

Have your document and, if applicable, the translation legalised with an apostille.

You can get an apostille from the South Korean authorities. See the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website for contact details.

Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands.

It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.

If your document was issued by the South Korean embassy in The Hague, have it legalised by the Consular Service Centre in The Hague.

Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands.

It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.

The South Korean embassy issues official copies of:

  • birth certificates (‘basic certificates’)
  • family relation certificates
  • marriage certificates
  • certificates of removal from the family registry

Don’t have the document you need?

Find out below where to obtain a document that you need but do not yet have.

You can get civil status records from your district office (gu office) or sub-municipal office (myeun, eup or dong office).

South Korean nationals have a:

  • birth certificate (‘basic certificate’)
  • family relation certificate, or a certificate of removal from the family registry.

Find out below how to get the following documents:

  • official copy of a birth certificate: request a ‘basic certificate’ and a family relation certificate
  • official copy of a marriage certificate: request a marriage certificate. You will be issued with an official copy of the family relation certificate.
  • official copy of a divorce certificate: request a certificate of removal from the family registry
  • official copy of a death certificate: request a family relation certificate, or a certificate of removal from the family registry

You can prove your unmarried status with a family relation certificate from your district office (gu office) or sub-municipal office (myeun, eup or dong office).

If you need another type of document, ask the local authorities where you can get this document.

Help with obtaining documents and having them legalised

The Consular Service Centre can assist Dutch nationals with obtaining documents and having them legalised in South Korea.

After legalisation

Verification of your document in the Netherlands

Legalisation does not prove the authenticity of a document or the truthfulness of its content. A municipality in the Netherlands, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) or another authority may decide to verify these things. Legalisation of your document simply means that your document bears the correct signature.

How recently must your document have been issued or legalised

Organisations have different requirements for how recently your document must have been issued and legalised. For more information, contact the organisation in the Netherlands requesting the document.

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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