[Updated] Getting a Korean Visa

Update: PLEASE READ FIRST

This is one of the most read, most researched, and most active posts in this blog and for that, I thank all of you for dropping by. It’s my only hope when I wrote this post that it will be helpful to you. I understand that as an excited traveler who wish to enter Seoul, you may have tons of questions about getting a visa as I also experienced that last year. While I’m trying my best to answer all of your questions, I don’t really have enough time to address each of you most especially now that I have just given birth to a beautiful and bouncing baby boy.

Just so that this post remains useful to you, please read the entire text first and see if your question in mind has already been answered. Kindly read the past comments because some questions are just repetitive, in which case, I may have already answered the same question before. Finally, please do not ask a question that seeks for a specific legal advice because I don’t wish to be bound by any attorney-client relationship by responding to your question. Please note also that there are questions that I can’t answer simply because I am not in any way connected with the Embassy or a travel agency that has a lot of experience with South Korean visa applications, and neither is this my field of expertise in law.

If your question has not been answered before and is something within my limited knowledge to answer, rest assured that I will get back at you no matter how busy I am.

Again thank you for reading my blog. I apologize in advance if I won’t be able to answer all your questions. And good luck with your visa application and I hope you enjoy Seoul the same way that I did!

Original Post:

Happy Easter everyone and yes, I’m back!

I’ve been away for almost a month because I’ve been terribly busy with work, Monsees Cafe re-launch, my birthday, hubby’s birthday, and… our recent trip to Seoul which I’m excited to tell you about.

Late last year, I started planning for our Seoul trip and I’m so happy to tell you that hubby and I had a really great time. Some friends who haven’t been to Seoul are asking me to post our photos here but more importantly, they’re asking me to share our itinerary, our experience with the Korean embassy in Manila, as well as the breakdown of our expenses. I’ll start with the visa application process and will try to be as detailed as possible so please bear with me

Just so you know, I’d like to tell you that we didn’t have a smooth time getting our visas. It’s not because we’re not qualified but because the immigration officers we met at the embassy were asking for various documents from us. We had to go to the embassy for 3-4 times but at the very least, we learned a lot from that experience.

For US Passport Holders

Before you get lost in the nitty-gritty of getting a Korean visa, let me just say at the outset that if you are a US passport-holder, you don’t need to get a pre-approved visa before going to South Korea. That means no more application forms, no long lines, no waiting time, no claim stubs whatsoever. You will still be issued a tourist visa but that will happen upon your arrival in South Korea. This is because of certain visa waiver agreements existing between the two countries.

Philippine Passport Holders

However, it’s a different story if you are a Philippine-passport holder. The Philippines has a visa waiver agreement but mere mortals like you and me are not covered

If you are applying for a Korean visa with the Embassy in Manila, the Hi Korea website which lists the requirements for different visa applications is irrelevant to you. I got all the documentary requirements from there but on our first visit to the embassy, our documents were not accepted because they said they’re not complete. The complete list of documents are found in the website of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines.

For Philippine passport holders, here are the standard requirements:

• Application form which you can download online or pick up from the Embassy when you go there to apply. You don’t need to type in your entries. Handwritten entries are allowed.
• One passport-size colored picture.
• Original passport and copy of the first page. The passport must not be less than 6 months valid.
• Original and copy of valid visas to the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, or Korea, if any.

And here are the required additional documents:

For employed applicants ~

• Original certificate of employment which you have to get from your company’s HR department.
• Original personal bank certificate. Please note that the requirement is a bank certificate, NOT a bank statement, NOT a passbook. The requirement is also a certificate of your “personal” bank account; hence, a bank certificate for a corporate account of which you are a stockholder/owner might not be accepted.
• Individual Income Tax Return or BIR Form 2316, Certificate of Income Tax Withheld. Your employer should issue this to you at the start of the year, not later than January 31.
• If you are invited to Korea, the original invitation letter and passport copy of the Korean individual inviting you, or in the case of corporate invitations, the original invitation letter and copy of the Korean company business permit of the inviting company.

For self-employed or businessmen ~

We are from a family of lawyers in solo practice or have our own law firms so I can give you a more accurate account for lawyer applicants

For solo-practitioners without a law firm, you need to present your original and photocopy of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) card and personal bank certificate. And if you have your own law firm, you need to present your original and photocopy of IBP card plus the other documents mentioned below. I’m not sure what the requirements are for other professionals but the most basic one would be the original and copy of the card issued by the PRC or any issuing body showing that you are a licensed professional.

For those in business (including those who have their own law firms), you need to submit ~

• Copies of the certificate of registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Mayor’s permit.
• Personal bank certificate.
• Individual income tax return.

If you are invited to Korea, the original invitation letter and passport copy of the Korean individual inviting you, or in the case of corporate invitations, the original invitation letter and copy of the Korean company business permit of the inviting company.

The requirements for other applicants like students, workers, etc. are in the website linked above.

How much bank deposit is required?

You might be asking how much bank deposit is required to be reflected in the bank certificate. There’s no hard and fast rule here. But based on my research, a bank deposit of at least P80,000 per applicant is safe. If you don’t have that much cash in bank, you can present land/condo/car titles in your name.

How much is the visa application fee?

For C3/Tourist visa applicants who are staying in Korea for 59 days only, the application fee is gratis. That is, you don’t have to pay for any visa application fee.

How many copies of documents do you need to submit for couple-applicants?

There’s no group visa application so even if you’re traveling with your spouse or family, you still need to have one application per individual. What about the supporting documents like a bank certificate for example? If the bank certificate you’re presenting is for a joint account, you only need to submit one original but you also need to submit a photocopy of your marriage certificate. If you have separate bank accounts, a marriage certificate is not required but each spouse having separate bank accounts should present one original bank statement per account.

What if you have a family business that is registered with the SEC/DTI, do you need to submit one copy each for every applicant, i.e., five copies of the SEC/DTI registration papers if you’re applying for five people?

The safe answer is YES. We came there to apply for couples who have their own businesses. In one occasion, the immigration officer accepted just one copy of the SEC/DTI papers for the couple. In another occasion, the immigration officer asked us for two copies of the documents but since we only had one copy, we had to go through the trouble of looking for a photocopying machine. The guards at the embassy told us that they have a machine there but that day, it’s not working. We had to go to Market!Market! to photocopy the documents and by the time we got back to the Embassy, they stopped the line and told us to come back the next day. So just to be safe, better come with multiple copies than risk having to look for a machine outside the embassy.

Is personal appearance required?

Nope. You can have someone do the dirty work for you. Just issue a power of attorney.

Where do you submit your documents?

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea is in Taguig along C5 and if you’re south-bound, you’ll find it on your right after a certain Petron station. You’ll know that it’s the embassy because you’ll see the flag waving in front. If you’re bringing your own car, you can park in front of the gate. You’ll notice that cars are parked under the trees in front of the embassy so just figure out where to squeeze your car in.

The application process starts at 9am and ends at 11am, pronto. However, the Embassy is open even before 9am so you can already come in and get your number.

When you enter the embassy, you’ll be asked to get your number. There are two lines for that. One is for US-visa holders and the other one is for the non-US visa holders. Be sure to get the number from the correct line. The application process is fast. If your documents are complete, your documents will be taken by the officer and he/she will issue you a claim stub. If your documents are not complete, the officer will return all the documents to you and ask you to come back with the complete set of documents.

How do you claim your approved visa?

If your documents are complete and accepted, the immigration officer will give you a claim stub indicating the date on which you have to come back to claim your passport. Acceptance of documents, however, does not automatically equate to approval of visa. It takes about 5 days for US-visa holders to get their passports back while for non-US visa holders, it’s about 7 days. You don’t need to personally claim your passport; you may appoint a representative to do so but don’t forget to give your representative the claim stub. If the lines for visa application open at 9am and close at 11am, the lines for claiming passports open at 2pm and close at 4pm.

How long is the validity of the visa?

We got a single-entry tourist visa valid for 90 days. The validity period is stated in the visa. The period of stay in Korea should not be more than 59 days.

Sorry for the massive wall of text. I’m just hoping the my friends and all of you will find this post helpful So that takes care of the “getting the visa” part. In my next post, I shall share my itinerary so please come back for that. Until then, annyeong!

*This post is a revision of my old post about getting a Korean visa.

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This is part of a series of posts about Seoul. Check out the others:

• Seoul Series: Why I Love 126 Mansion (review)
• [Seoul Series] Day 1: Arriving in Seoul and Exploring Samcheongdong and Bukchon
• [Seoul Series] Day 1: Gyeongbokgung Palace (and Chaging of the Guards and Hanbok Wearing Experience)
• [Seoul Series] Day 2: Nami Island/Naminara Republic
• [Seoul Series] Day 3: COEX Mall, COEX Aquarium, Kimchi Field Museum, and Doota Mall
• [Seoul Series] Day 4: Insadong, Ssamzie-gil, Jogyesa Temple