How to Apply Korean Tourist Visa in the Philippines ~ Updated

*UPDATED: October 2, 2018*

It was last July 1, 2018 when the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines issued a new process of visa application for Philippine passport-holders. Check out this article for more details.

Applying for a Korean Tourist Visa in the Philippines is fast and easy if you have all the requirements needed. Months ago, I was confronted by my first ever visa application, and gladly it was a success. Best thing of all was that the application itself was absolutely free!

I am uber meticulous in filling out any type of document form. I always ensure that I read all the details carefully and that I don’t miss any item. So when it’s time for me to apply for a Korean Tourist Visa, I made sure that everything was completely filled out with meticulous precision because I know that once my application is denied, I have to wait for another six months to re-apply, and I don’t want that to happen of course (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Seoul).

                                          

When applying for a Korean Visa in the Philippines, there are different sets of requirements for specific individuals such as for; employees, businessmen, students, housewives/househusbands, retired senior citizen, Korean’s sister/brother-in-law, Korean’s parents-in-law, Filipino married to a Korean, religious workers, seafarers, workers with visa issuance number, short term employment, studying in Korea, Filipino married to foreigner working in Korea, foreign resident in the Philippines, children of a Filipino married to military personnel stationed in Korea, Filipino married to military personnel stationed in Korea, parents of a Filipino married to military personnel stationed in Korea, and D9 visa.

For this article, I will only be discussing my experience when I applied for a Korean Tourist Visa as a regular employee. Just a backgrounder, I still didn’t have flight tickets, trip itinerary and hotel accommodation when I applied for the visa, they will not be asking for those when you apply. For the requirements of other visa types, please go directly to the official website of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines.

So here’s a detailed account on my successful application of Korean Tourist Visa as an Employed Filipino:

• To start with, I checked out the embassy’s official website and quickly scanned the Visa Announcement Page (check here) for promos and other current visa-related matters (there was a promo for elite credit card holders of a certain bank when I applied, sadly, I don't have that specific type of credit card).

• Next was that I examined the Requirements for Employed Filipinos (check here);

VISA Requirements for Filipino Employees

1. Duly accomplished application form
2. One (1) piece passport-sized colored picture (attach it on the application form)
3. Original passport (should be valid for more than six months)
4. Photocopy of passport bio-page (page 2)
5. Original and photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past five (5) years, if applicable
6. Original Certificate of Employment (must include applicant’s position, date hired, compensation, office address, HR landline number – cellphone is not allowed, HR email address)
7. Original Personal Bank Certificate (must include account type, current balance, account opening date, average daily balance)
8. Bank Statement (original or certified true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last three months)
9. Income Tax Return (ITR) or Form 2316 copy
10. Copy of Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) card or Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) card, if applicable

*If personally invited by Korean

-          Invitation Letter

-          Photocopy of invitor’s passport or identification card (authentication not required)

*If invited by company in Korea

-          Photocopy of Korean Company Business Permit (authentication not required)

*Frequent travelers who have traveled as tourist to OECD member countries within five (5) years are exempted from submitting ITR.

• I also looked at the Specifics of the Visa Application itself so as to plan my embassy visit accordingly.

Processing Time

Three (3) working days (for those who have been to OECD member countries within five (5) years as tourist)

Five (5) working days (for those who have not been to OECD member countries within five (5) years)

Visa Fee

59 days (or less) stay in Korea – free-of-charge

60 to 90 days stay in Korea – PhP1,800

Schedule of VISA processing time

Mondays to Fridays except holidays

8:30 am to 11:00 am – Visa Application

1:30 pm to 4:00 pm – Releasing Time

Other reminders;

1. Applicants may file their visa applications at the Consular Office (see address below).
2. No appointment is needed. Application is a first come, first serve basis. In cases that there will be a lot of applicants, those who will arrive after 10:30 am may not be accommodated.
3. If traveling with a group, a representative can submit and claim all the documents for each applicant. For family applications, document/s for proof of relationship is a must (Marriage Contract, Birth Certificate) and should be filed together.
4. All original and photocopied documents (such as bank certificates) that will be used on the application will not be given back to the applicant. You will also be leaving your original passport at the Consular Office and if the requirements passed are complete, you will then be given a claim stub for you to claim it. The date stamped on it will be the release date. You may also bring your old passports just to be sure that you have it when they ask you to present it.
5. Processing takes five (5) days for first time travelers and three (3) working days for frequent travelers. It may be extended though, depending on the Consul’s decision.
6. Validity of visa is three (3) months from the issue date.

• After completing all the requirements, I Downloaded an Application Form here and printed it on an A4 size paper. I made sure that I did not leave any item blank and put N/A (Not Applicable) instead. Just to make sure, I accomplished two copies of the application form and checked it three times before heading to the embassy. Here are some of my specific responses I had on my application.

Fill out the application form legibly and honestly with no erasures. I used block (all capital) letters in all of my responses. Don’t leave any item blank and put N/A instead (this is very important).

Item 1.2. Chinese-Korean Name – "N/A"
Item 1.7. National Identity No. – "N/A"
Item 1.8. Other names used to enter or depart Korea – If you’re a single Filipina then check “NO” and put “N/A” on the space for the maiden name. If you’re married and traveled to South Korea when you were still single then you have to check “YES” then put your maiden name on the space provided.
Item 4.2. Current Residential Address – I’ve written my permanent (and current) address on Item 4.1 so I wrote “SAME ADDRESS AS ABOVE” on this item.
Item 9.4. Address in Korea/Item 9.5. Phone No. in Korea – I still haven’t decided on my accommodation at the time of my application so I put “UNDECIDED” on both these items.
Item 9.7. Countries visited outside your country of residence in the last five years – I made a list of countries I’ve been to in the last five years, printed it out and put “SEE ATTACHED LIST” on the space provided.
Item 10.1. Estimated travel costs (in US dollars) – I made a rough estimate on my possible expenses including food and accommodation and safe to say, $100 per day is good enough to write (assuming that you have more than that on your bank account/s). I put "US$600 (SIX HUNDRED US DOLLARS)" on the space provided given that I planned a six-day stay in Seoul.
Item 10.2. Who will pay for your travel-related expenses? – a.)    I wrote my name, b.)    I put “MYSELF”, and c.)     I wrote “FINANCIAL; AIRFARE, ACCOMMODATION, FOOD, SHOPPING”
Section 12. Declaration – Write the date following the format provided and you have to sign on the “SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT” itself (supersede). Do not sign below it as this line is for the parent or guardian of a minor.

Sign above the SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT (supersede)

• Together with the completely filled out form and requirements, I went to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines (see address below) wherein I arrived at exactly 7:30 am, one hour earlier than the start of processing time. I was asked by the security personnel to register on their log book. I was 15th on the queue and was called to get inside the office at 8:00 am. I was with a friend at that time which they allowed to enter the premises as well.

• There was an officer who asked us to line up for the queue number and inspected our requirements (taking out the unnecessary ones such as the photocopy of my company id). He then stapled it and gave me my number.

• There are three windows at the visa application office and I was assigned on the second one. It was not until 8:30 am when the Korean consular officers started to receive the applications. At 8:40 am, my number was flashed on the screen so I immediately went to the second window and sat on the chair provided. I greeted the officer and handed her the queuing number, my application form and requirements plus my original passport. She scanned through my documents and didn't say a word during that time. I was just given a piece of paper with the expected date of release of my passport. It only took me eleven minutes from the time that the processing started until I was given my claim slip.

• I waited for five working days for the release of my passport. During that time, I didn’t receive any call from the consular office regarding my application (like what I read from the experiences of other applicants). I arrived at the embassy at around 3:30 pm and aside from two other visitors, the place looked empty. I went to the officer who supervises the queue and handed him my claim slip. He then asked me to wait for my number to be called. After two minutes, I went at the second window and claimed my passport. There were no conversations or whatsoever with the officer and as I leave the embassy premises, I flipped through my passport and saw the visa that was pasted on one of the pages. I smiled and thanked the gracious security officers on my way out. 

I did it! I conquered South Korea on my own. Woohoo! ☃ My first ever winter and solo trip abroad. Thanks to my friends and family who cheered for me. No more four layers of clothing and struggling with my hands getting numb with minus something degree weather plus the challenge of setting up a cellphone tripod for a nice selfie shot. And while I'm defrosting, me thinking about a beach trip this weekend for I really miss the Philippine heat. Tara?! On that note, I challenge you to try traveling solo. It feels, uhmm, very liberating 😀 #BlissfulSeoul

A post shared by blissfulguro (@blissfulguro) on Feb 8, 2017 at 5:06pm PST

Applying for a Korean Tourist Visa was my first ever visa application and it was a success. The key here is that you just have to fill out the application form legibly and honestly as well as pass all the requirements that were asked. After the approved visa, the nitty gritty part of organizing an itinerary for my first ever winter trip was next. And have I told you that it's also my first ever solo trip abroad? Haha.


*UPDATED: October 2, 2018*

Started last July 1, 2018, tourist visa applications in the Republic of Korea for Philippine passport-holders will need to be coursed through the embassy's officially designated travel agencies but the requirements are still the same. Walk-in applicants for regular tourist visa applications will no longer be accepted except for spouses and children of Koreans, government employees with official business trip, holders of visa issuance number, and those with humanitarian reason to travel to Republic of Korea urgently.  It followed the suit of Applying for a Japan Tourist Visa in the Philippines. 

Here's the list of Accredited Travel Agencies by the Korean Embassy

1. Aboex Travel and Tours (Mandaluyong)
2. Adventure International Tours (Makati, Cebu)
3. Ark Travel Express Inc. (Makati)
4. Blue Horizons Travel and Tours Inc. (Makati, Cubao, Cebu, Boracay, Bohol)
5. Budget Travel and Tours Inc. (Alabang, Manila)
6. Casto Travel Philippines Inc. (Makati)
7. City Travel & Tours Corporation (Makati, Angeles)
8. Come On Phils. Golf and Travel Agency Inc. (Ermita)
9. Constellation Travels, Inc. (Makati, Iloilo)
10. First United Travel Inc. (Makati, Bulacan, Cebu)
11. Getaway Tours International Inc. (Manila, Sucat, General Trias, Dasmariñas)
12. Grand Hope Travel, Inc. (Cebu, Bohol)
13. Hanatour Manila Inc. (Pasay, Boracay, Cebu)
14. H.I.S. (Philippines) Travel Corp (BGC, Cebu)
15. Hankookceb Corp. (Cebu)
16. Horizon Travel & Tours, Inc. (Binondo, Ermita)
17. International Journeys Inc. (Manila)
18. Island Resort Club Tour Services, Inc. (Pasay)
19. JTB Asia Pacific Phil. Corp. (BGC, Pasay, Quezon City, Cebu)
20. KP Joeun Consultancy Inc. (Pasig)
21. Las Palmas Tours and Travel Agency, Inc. (Manila, Makati, San Fernando)
22. Marsman Drysdale Travel Inc. (Makati)
23. MNK Travel & Tours Corp. (Pasig)
24. North Star International Travel, Inc. (Makati)
25. Pan Pacific Travel Corporation (Binondo, Ermita, Makati, Cebu)
26. Party-on Travel and Tour Community, Inc. (Ortigas)
27. Rajah Travel Corporation (Makati, Manila)
28. Rakso Air Travel and Tours Inc. (Makati, Ermita, Santa Cruz, Angeles, Boracay, Cebu, Davao)
29. Reli Tours and Travel Company (Makati, Pasay, Binondo, Las Pinas, Mandaluyong)
30. Sharp Travel Service (Phils.) Inc. (Makati, Manila)
31. Swire Travel Phils, Inc. (Makati, Alabang, Clark, Subic)
32. The Baron Travel Corporation (Makati, Cebu)
33. Travel Pros (Megamall, SM Aura, Fairview, North Edsa, BGC, Quezon)
34. Travelservices, Inc. (Makati, Cebu, Laguna)
35. Uni-Orient Travel, Inc. (Makati, Binondo, Ortigas, Cebu)

There will be a processing fee of P500 to P1,500 for every application. This is for their Manila office only, their Consulate office in Cebu will not be affected and they will still accept walk-in applicants.

Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines

122 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center,

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, 1634, Metro Manila, Philippines

Contact Number: (+63) 2.856.9210

Website

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