• Located in Eastern Asia bordering the Korean Bay and Sea of Japan
• Towards the end of Spring, there is severe drought  which is then followed by flooding and occasional typhoons as fall approaches

 

Marriage to a North Korean Citizen

Every country has its own laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to a North Korean citizen with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps. The North Korean government imposes strict requirements on foreigners who marry North Koreans as an indirect way of discouraging North Korean citizens from moving to other countries.

Foreigners must apply for official permission from the North Korean government to marry a citizen of North Korea. You must demonstrate to North Korean officials that they are not currently married to anyone else – either you have never been married or all divorces are finalized – that your identity is proven, and that you have never committed any crimes in North Korea. This is done by providing various documents including an Affidavit of Single Status to the North Korean government either in North Korean or via a North Korean embassy.

If you want to bring your North Korean spouse or partner to live in Canada, you must then file a sponsorship application for them to become a permanent resident. If they would like to visit you in Canada while their application is in process, they must also apply for a visitor visa. For more information, please see our family sponsorship page and our visitor visa page.

 

North Korean Marriage Basic Requirements

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is special case in the world as it is one of the most diplomatically isolated countries. Please contact us if you are trying to marry in North Korea and want to sponsor your spouse to Canada.

 

Visa Requirements:

• Passport size photo
• Valid passport
• Photocopy of the first page of the passport
• Visa application form

 

Family Members

If your North Korean spouse has dependent children, this does not affect the sponsorship process.

If you have dependent children, they have no effect on sponsoring of a North Korean citizen.

 

Calling North Korea from Canada

Calling the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is difficult as most international calls must go through an operator:

Dial 001 – 850 – 2 – 18111, where

• 001 is the exit code from Canada
• 850 is the country code for North Korea
• 2 is the area code for Pyongyang
• 18111 is the international operator number

This procedure is followed because the North Korean telephone directory is considered top secret government information.

There are a few phone numbers that can be dialled directly – mostly fax numbers – and these numbers begin with 381. For example, to dial one of these numbers in Pyongyang, you would dial:

001 – 850 – 2 – 381xxxx

These international numbers cannot call domestically unless they are calling another 381 number.

Official North Korean Area Codes as of 2011

2	Pyongyang
2	Pyongyang
2 18	Pyongyang
2 381	Pyongyang
2 771	Pyongyang
2 772	Pyongyang
2 880	Pyongyang
2 881	Pyongyang
2 882	Pyongyang
2 883	Pyongyang
2 885	Pyongyang
195	Pyongyang
31	Pyongsong
39	Nampo
41	Sariwon
45	Haeju
49	Kaesong
53	Hamhung
57	Wonsan
61	Sinuiju
67	Kanggye
73	Chongjin
79	Hyesan
85 29	Rason

 

Calling Canada from North Korea

Calling Canada is virtually impossible unless you have access a special phone line allowed to make international calls. If you have one of these numbers, dial

Dial 00 / 99 – 1 – area code – local number, where 00 or 99 is the exit code from North Korea.

You may be prevented from making this call.

Area Codes of Canada

Province	Code	Province	Code
Alberta	403 / 587 (southern Alberta) 587 / 780 (central and northern Alberta)	Nunavut	867
BC	236 / 250 / 778 (majority of BC) 236 / 604 / 778 (Metro Vancouver)	Ontario	226 / 519 (southwestern Ontario) 249 / 705 (northeastern Ontario) 289 / 365 / 905 (Greater Toronto Area) 343 / 613 (eastern Ontario) 416 / 647 (Toronto) 807 (northwestern Ontario)
Manitoba	204 / 431	PEI	782 / 902
New  Brunswick	506	Quebec	418 / 581 (eastern Quebec) 438 / 514 (Montreal) 450 / 579 (Greater Montreal) 819 / 873 (remainder of Quebec)
Newfoundland and Labrador	709	Saskatchewan	306 / 639
Northwest Territories	867	Yukon	867
Nova Scotia	782 / 902

 

Time Difference

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is on Korean Standard Time (GMT+9), just like the Republic of Korea. North Korea does not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Canadian Time Zone	# of Hours North Korea is Ahead	# of Hours during DST
Pacific (BC, Yukon)	17 hours	16 hours
Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan)	16 hours	15 hours
Saskatchewan	15 hours	15 hours
Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario)	15 hours	14 hours
Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec)	14 hours	13 hours
Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebec)	13 hours	12 hours
Newfoundland	12.5 hours	11.5 hours

 

Emergency Information for Canadians in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

There is no Canadian diplomatic mission in North Korea. For assistance contact the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang or the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.

Please note that the numbers listed below for the Swedish Embassy can only be called internationally or form other 381 numbers.

Embassy of Sweden in Pyongyang Munsudong, Daehak Street Taedonggang District, Pyongyang Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Telephone: 850 (2) 381-7908, 381-7904, or 381-7485* Fax: 850 (2) 381-7663* Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.swedenabroad.se/sv/utlandsmyndigheter/nordkorea-pyongyang/	View Larger Map
Embassy of Canada in Seoul 21 Jeongdong-gil (Jeong-dong) Jung-gu, Seoul (100-120) Republic of Korea Telephone: 82-2-3783-6000 Fax: 82-2-3783-6112 E-mail: [email protected] Website: korea.gc.ca	View Larger Map

Please note

Canadian Government’s Travel Alerts for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

For travel alerts, click here

Sponsoring Your Korean Spouse to Canada

Sponsoring a Korean from the Democratic People’s Republic is more difficult than the average sponsorship application. To learn about average sponsorship applications, click the button below.

Learn More