Apostille and Legalization Between Georgia and Korea - Authorities, E-Apostille, Sequence and Timing

Apostille replaces legalization between Georgia and Korea

Korea and Georgia both acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention in 2007, so a public document from either country is recognized in the other once apostilled by the issuing country's competent authority. The Korean Embassy in Tbilisi does not legalize Georgian documents and does not need to; nor does the Georgian embassy in Seoul legalize Korean ones. What the embassies handle is visa issuance, the reporting of Korean citizens' marriages and births abroad, and consular certificates, which is separate from the apostille and presupposes apostilled originals.

Whether the translation must also be apostilled is not usually the question in Korea; Korean offices look instead at whether the translation is notarized or certified. Georgian offices require a Georgian notarized translation and an apostille on the Korean original, paper or electronic. We prepare whichever the destination requires.

Where Korean documents get their apostille: MOFA, MOJ and the e-apostille

Korea splits apostille authority between two ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs apostilles administrative documents - family relation certificates, 주민등록등본, 범죄경력회보서, diplomas and transcripts, 사업자등록증, 법인등기부등본 and documents from other agencies. The Ministry of Justice apostilles judicial and notarial documents - court decisions and documents notarized by a Korean notary, including 번역공증 translations. Both offer walk-in and postal service, and since 2018 Korea issues electronic apostilles: many certificates issued through the government's online services (정부24, 대법원 전자가족관계등록시스템) can be apostilled electronically and verified online, producing a PDF that Georgian offices accept once we translate the certificate and the e-apostille's verification data and notarize the translation. Korean citizens already in Georgia can obtain electronic apostilles themselves in minutes, or paper ones through a relative or a 행정사.

Apostille on Georgian documents for Korea

Georgian documents going to Korea are apostilled here, and this part we handle entirely. Civil status certificates and Public Service Hall extracts are apostilled through the Public Service Development Agency; notarial acts and court documents through the Ministry of Justice route; diplomas and school certificates through the education verification route, which is the slowest at up to five business days. You bring the original to Agmashenebeli 117 once, or a relative brings it, and we submit, track and collect the apostille, then translate the bundle into Korean and notarize it here; where the Korean office requires 번역공증, we forward the text to a partner notary in Seoul. Clients in Korea receive the finished set by DHL within three to four days.

Documents most often apostilled between Georgia and Korea

• Korean visas (E-7, D-2, D-4, F-6, E-8): Georgian conviction certificate, diplomas and transcripts, marriage and birth certificates, bank statements where the embassy asks for legalized ones.
• Marriage reporting in Korea: Georgian marriage certificate for the 주민센터 or embassy, Georgian birth certificate and marital status certificate for marriage in Korea.
• GKS and university admission: Georgian diplomas, supplements, school leaving certificates with national exam results.
• For Georgian residence permits: Korean 범죄경력회보서, family relation certificates, diplomas.
• For company registration in Georgia: Korean 법인등기부등본, 정관, board resolutions and 위임장.
• Property and investment: 위임장 for Georgian property purchases, Georgian Public Registry extracts for Korean investors' records.
• Succession: Georgian death certificates and inheritance certificates for Korean courts, Korean family relation certificates proving kinship for Georgian notaries.

Marriage between Korean and Georgian citizens: the document chain

Mixed marriages are a growing file. A Korean citizen marrying in Georgia presents the 혼인관계증명서 (상세) showing no existing marriage and the 기본증명서, apostilled electronically or on paper, translated and notarized here; the House of Justice registers the marriage, and the Korean spouse must report it to the 주민센터 in Korea or the Korean Embassy within three months with the Georgian marriage certificate apostilled and translated into Korean. A Georgian marrying in Korea presents the Georgian birth certificate and marital status certificate, apostilled and translated into Korean with 번역공증, to the 구청 or 시청, and the F-6 spouse visa follows with its own documentation on the relationship, income and housing. Children of these marriages need Georgian birth certificates apostilled and translated for Korean citizenship and family registry entry, or Korean 기본증명서 apostilled and translated for Georgian citizenship. We prepare these as matched sets with identical transliteration.

Timing, validity and common errors

Apostilles on Georgian civil status documents usually take one to three business days; notarial acts and court documents about the same; education documents up to five. Add 1-2 hours for the translation and a few days for Korean notarization where required. Korean electronic apostilles are immediate; paper ones take a day or two. Korean immigration wants the 범죄경력회보서 and civil status certificates recently issued, typically within three months, and Georgian practice applies similar windows, so timing matters. The errors we correct most often are an untranslated apostille certificate, the general (일반) version of a family relation certificate where the detailed (상세) one was needed, a document apostilled by the wrong ministry, a Georgian document in a maiden name that differs from the passport, a Korean name romanized differently across documents, a marriage not reported in Korea within three months, and a bundle unstapled for scanning. Send photos of both sides of every page, or the e-apostille PDF, and we run this check before submitting.

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