Every once in a while we need to get some kind of rest from our jobs; it’s either we stay at home and rest, visit our relatives in the provinces, or we travel with loved ones in different places like different tourist destinations in our country or to different countries which a lot of people find very great and travel-worthy. There are countries that require a visa even if you only visit. There are a lot of questions that surround this specific topic; in this article, I am going to dictate what you need in order to process a visa for South Korea.
What is a visa?
A visa is an endorsement of a passport which indicates that the bearer is allowed to enter, stay in a specific country with a time period, or to leave the country. Visas are almost commonly required in each country and take note, not all visas are the same. Visas usually concern control over immigration; to prove that you will just visit and that you will not stay, to prove that you are going to stay inside the country with a given schedule, etc. It is mainly part of the way of controlling the borders of the country – inside and out.
Basic requirements you’ll be needing to complete
- Philippine passport and must have at least 6 months of validity. Submit it without its jacket or cover
- A duly accomplished handwritten visa application form and make sure you do not leave even one item blank; put N/A if not applicable. You can download the form from here
- 5 cm x 4.5 cm colored passport photo on white plain background. Be sure to wear something collared when you take the photo
- Photocopy of passport bio page
The next step is to provide additional requirements
Additional requirements you would need to pass depends on your employment status:
Students and Minors
- School certificate (original)
- Photocopy of current student ID
- Photocopy of NSO birth certificate
- Supporting financial documents of parents – original certificate of employment, DTI/SEC, mayor’s permit) original bank certificate, original bank statements/passbook, photocopy of ITR Form 2316. *Travelers who have traveled at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries within the last 5 years are exempted in submitting and ITR.
- Original and at least one photocopy of valid visa(s) and arrival stamps to OECD member countries within the last 5 years. *Valid visas to OECD member countries will highly improve your chances of getting approved so submit them if you have them.
Self-employed adults
- Photocopy of business registration (SEC or DTI)
- Photocopy of income tax return (ITR 2316) with personal TIN. *Travelers who have traveled at Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries within the last 5 years are exempted in submitting and ITR.
- Photocopy of business mayor’s permit.
- Original bank certificate *must include account type, current balance, account opening date, and 6-month average balance.
- Original or true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last three months.
- Original and at least one photocopy of valid visa(s) and arrival stamps to OECD member countries within the last 5 years. *Valid visas to OECD member countries will highly improve your chances of getting approved so submit them if you have them.
- If invited by a Korean national, you need also to provide an invitation letter and the photocopy of the inviter’s passport.
- If invited by a Korean company, you need to also provide the invitation letter and a photocopy of the Korean company’s business permit.
Employed Adults
- Original certificate of employment. It needs to be printed under your company’s official letterhead. This must contain your position at the company, date hired, salary, company address, office and landline number and email address. *cellphone numbers are not allowed.
- Photocopy of income tax return (ITR 2316) with personal TIN. *Travelers who have traveled at Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries within the last 5 years are exempted in submitting and ITR.
- Original bank certificate *must include account type, current balance, account opening date, and 6-month average balance.
- Original or true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last three months.
- Original and at least one photocopy of valid visa(s) and arrival stamps to OECD member countries within the last 5 years. *Valid visas to OECD member countries will highly improve your chances of getting approved so submit them if you have them.
- If invited by a Korean national, you need also to provide an invitation letter and the photocopy of the inviter’s passport.
- If invited by a Korean company, you need to also provide the invitation letter and a photocopy of the Korean company’s business permit.
- Copy of PRC or IBP card (if possible)
Unemployed Spouses
- Spouse’s original certificate of employment. It needs to be printed under your company’s official letterhead. This must contain your position at the company, date hired, salary, company address, office and landline number and email address. *cellphone numbers are not allowed.
- Spouse’s original bank certificate. *must include account type, current balance, account opening date, and 6-month average balance.
- Spouse’s original or true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last three months.
- Photocopy of spouse’s Photocopy of income tax return (ITR 2316) with personal TIN. *Travelers who have traveled at Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries within the last 5 years are exempted in submitting and ITR.
- Photocopy of NSO-issued marriage certificate.
- Original and at least one photocopy of valid visa(s) and arrival stamps to OECD member countries within the last 5 years. *Valid visas to OECD member countries will highly improve your chances of getting approved so submit them if you have them.
- If invited by a Korean national, you need also to provide an invitation letter and the photocopy of the inviter’s passport.
After submitting all of the requirements, hope and pray that your visa gets approved. The process time of those members of the OECD is 3 business days while those who are not is 5. Releasing time is from 2-4PM, Mondays ‘til Fridays. Depending on the power of your application, you may be asked to present more documents or to undergo an interview(s).
To be extra sure, go and pass all the needed requirements for you not to come back from time to time to update yours. Click here to check the embassy’s website for updates.