How to Add Your Foreign Spouse to Korean Health Insurance as a Dependent (2026 Guide)
If your Korean spouse works for a company in Korea, you may be able to join National Health Insurance (NHI) as a dependent and pay no premium at all . The short answer: a spouse of an employee-insured person is exempt from the 6-month residency rule, so you can apply right after you arrive , as long as your income and assets are under the limits. Here is what we learned as a Korean–Vietnamese family that moved to Korea, including one rule that surprised us later. 1. What is a "dependent" (피부양자)? In Korea, an employee pays health insurance through their company. Family members who depend on that employee can be added as dependents (피부양자, pi-bu-yang-ja) . Dependents get the same coverage as the employee. Dependents do not pay a separate premium . Without dependent status, a foreigner usually has to join as a regional (self-paying) member and pay a monthly premium. 2. Who can be a dependent? Requirement What it means Relationship Spouse, children, parents, etc...