How to Get Approved for a Korean Tourist Visa for Young Filipinos
What are the requirements? How much does a Filipino need in their bank account to get approved for a Korean tourist visa?
Korea.net reported in 2019 that among ASEAN member countries, the Philippines has the third highest rate of people-to-people exchanges with Korea. An estimated two million Koreans and Filipinos combined visited each other’s countries in 2018.
The Philippines is also South Korea’s 1st diplomatic partner in the ASEAN, celebrating 71 years of friendship. While the two countries’ long-running diplomatic ties is amazing, most Filipinos know Korea for other things: taekwondo, Korean dramas, food, scenic views, and K-Pop.
Whatever your reason is for visiting the Republic of Korea, here’s a guide on applying for a Korean tourist visa for Filipinos.
My Own Experience
I consider myself very lucky. I have been to South Korea two times: first in June 2019 for my older sister’s graduation vacation after graduating from med school and second in January 2020 to celebrate my birthday.
During my first time applying for a Korean visa, my parents took care of most of the requirements. All I did was request a certificate of employment with compensation from my employer, provide ID photos, and fill up the application form.
My parents didn’t even know I applied for a second time, mostly because I wanted to go on this trip to prove I can survive on my own. My parents provided the bank certificate from my lifetime savings account for the family trip. I had to get one from my personal savings account.
Stubborn as I am, I encountered several issues along the way. I’ll tell you more as we go over the requirements.
Korean Tourist Visa Requirements for Filipinos
You can find the list of requirements on the website of the Korean Embassy. If you click the hyperlink, you will find links to the requirements depending on your personal circumstances.
For this article, I’ll focus on the general requirements for Employees and Students.
The basic requirements for Filipinos to apply for a Korean tourist visa are the following:
- Application Form
- 1 passport-sized color photo
- Original passport
- Photocopy of passport bio page
Requirements for Employees
You need to prove you’re employed when you apply for a Tourist visa. The Embassy needs to know you’re not going to seek employment or become an undocumented immigrant.
Job seeker visas exist for graduates of universities in the Times’ Higher World University Rankings (Top 200) in recent 3 years or employees of Fortune’s Global 500 Companies.
Since you’re only applying for a tourist visa, you need to prove you have a stable source of income with the following documents:
- Original Certificate of Employment
- Original Personal Bank Certificate
- Bank Statement
- Photocopy of Income Tax Return or Form 2316
For Self-Employed individuals, you can submit the following instead of a Certificate of Employment:
- Business Registration from SEC or DTI (Copy)
- Business Permit or Mayor’s Permit (Copy)
If you have the following documents, you can submit these to strengthen your application:
- Copy of PRC Card or IBP card
- Original & Photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years
Requirements for Students
These documents will help you prove you are currently a student and would have to return to the Philippines to finish your education:
- School Certificate (Original, proof you are currently enrolled)
- Copy of School ID
- Copy of Birth Certificate
If you were personally invited by a Korean, you need an invitation letter and a photocopy of the Korean citizen’s passport or identification card.
If you were invited by a company in Korea, you also need an invitation letter and a photocopy of the company’s Korean Business Permit.
Individuals who are frequent travelers to OECD countries or have visited South Korea at least once before would not need to submit an ITR!
Fees and Travel Agencies
Applying for a Korean Tourist visa is FREE. Their website states you need to pay additional P2,000 to apply for a 60–90 days stay visa but I managed to get single-entry 90-day tourist visas both times without paying the fee.
It’s best to ask your chosen travel agency about this. In recent years, the Korean government requires you to process your application through an accredited travel agency. Each agency has their own processing fees so it’s best to explore your options.
I applied through Rakso Travel for both trips. My parents paid the first time but the application fee increased to P1,500 per person by the time I applied for my second Korean tourist visa.
When To Apply for Korean Tourist Visa
When I applied, they asked about my departure date. They told me my application would be placed on queue since there were many others who applied before me. They could only file five (5) applications at each Embassy per day.
At present, there are two Korean Embassy offices in the Philippines: one in Manila and another in Cebu. There’s an Honorary Consulate in Davao but they do not process visa applications.
This means the agency can only process 10 applications per day, out of the many individuals applying through their different branches. Remember: these applications are processed per individual and not per group even if you submit your application together.
They made me sign a waiver acknowledging that my visa might not be released before my target departure date and there is no guarantee it will be approved just because an established travel agency processed it for me. It was a risk that cost me, but I’d rather not talk about that. I’m here to help you avoid the mistakes I made!
To give you an idea, my application was filed in the Embassy three to four weeks after I submitted it to the agency. The Korean Embassy’s website releases a notice weekly on how long it will take to process your visa application if it was filed in the Embassy on a given week.
The first time we applied, it only took 10–15 days to process. When I submitted my application, the processing period became three to four weeks. When my visa application was finally filed at the Embassy, it was extended to 30–34 days.
The lesson here is to apply for your tourist visa at least two months (60 days) before your target departure date. Winter, Fall, and Spring are popular seasons for tourism in Korea so you have to account for that if you’re processing your application through a big agency.
Some agencies will immediately file your visa application after you submit the complete requirements but for a bigger processing fee. One agency I canvased charged P3,000. Time is money, so try to weigh which one you have more of when choosing a travel agency.
Your Korean tourist visa will be valid for 60–90 days. If you don’t want to buy your ticket until you’re sure you have an approved visa, you can wait until then to book your tickets. In my experience, you can still find a decent airfare deal for a date within your visa validity by then.
Tips on Getting Your Application Right
If you have the complete, correct documents then you don’t have to worry much about getting denied. You can submit your visa application sooner if you have it right from the beginning.
You can download the Application Form for visa application on the Korean Embassy’s website. It’s available in .docx, .pdf, and .hwp formats so you can fill them out digitally and then print on A4 size paper. They recommend A4 paper that is at least 80gsm in thickness.
There’s a new format for the visa application form but it’s more or less similar to the ones I filled out before.
The first section is for your personal details:
The Philippines doesn’t have a National Identity system yet, but I wrote my UMID number on this portion. Fill out this part correctly and make sure it matches the info on your passport!
For the photo, you can submit any color photo with a white or off-white background. You can use any passport-size ID photo taken within the last 6 months. You can do this at home if you have a good camera and printer or any rush ID photo shop near you.
You can’t get the 2nd section wrong if you have your passport with you and just copy the info.
If you don’t have a passport yet, you cannot apply for a Korean visa. You need to submit your original passport, a photocopy of the bio page, and fill in the required information in the form.
I’ll do another article on applying for a passport although information is readily available online. Make sure your passport is still valid for 6 months or more from the date of application.
The third section will contain your contact information. They need your current address, cell phone number, telephone number (if applicable, if not write “N/A”), and email address. You also need to provide an emergency contact.
The next section is also simple. If you’re married or if you have children, fill in the required details. Otherwise, write N/A on all fields that don’t apply throughout your application form.
Do the same with the Education section.
Both students and employees need to fill out the Employment section. If you don’t have work, complete the required information about your school.
The next parts of the application form are the most crucial but they can be the trickiest as well. Section 7 requires you to provide the details of your visit. Of course, you should select “Tourism” for the purpose.
If you already have a hotel, guesthouse, or AirBnB booked, write the address and phone number as required.
My family stayed in Kimchee Guesthouse Hongdae. It was affordable and close to public transportation so you can get anywhere fast. They also have a Work Exchange program where you can apply to volunteer in exchange for free accommodation.
Some guesthouses in Korea will allow you to book in advance without upfront payment. If you’re unsure about where to stay, you can temporarily book one so you have something to write in the Address and Phone Number section of your application.
They don’t need you to submit proof of your accommodation but it’s always good to have a legitimate booking until your visa is approved in case they randomly decided to call and check.
Make sure you find one with free cancellation in case you ultimately decide on somewhere else! I’ll talk about accommodation options in a follow-up article.
Intended Period of Stay and Date of Entry
If you already have a tentative or definite date, write the number of days/weeks/months from the date of your departure to your return to the Philippines.
It doesn’t have to be an exact number, but it will help you estimate the travel expenses you will write on the later part of the form. I’ll explain this later. For the date of entry, write your target departure date.
Complete the information requested about your trips to Korea and other countries in the tables below. You are submitting your original passport, so there’s no point in lying about this.
You will also be asked if you have any immediate family members in Korea. If you are a direct family member of someone who has an alien registration card in Korea, you’re eligible to apply for an express visa.
Details of Invitation
If you were invited by a Korean citizen or company, fill in the required information. You need to provide their date of birth or registration number (whichever applies), your relationship to the applicant, their address, and their phone number.
Funding Details
If you’re coming to Korea with parents, relatives, etc. who will take care of your expenses, just write their information and write your personal estimated travel costs in US Dollars. For our 7-day trip to Korea, I wrote my dad’s information and said my estimated travel costs was $600.
This is the trickiest part of the application especially if you don’t have a lot of money and you’re going by yourself. It will also help determine your length of stay. Since they don’t require you to submit copies of your plane tickets or hotel bookings, you have some liberty with this one.
Travel agencies will tell you to write $100 for every day of your stay. That’s P30,000 for a 6-day trip. It’s a realistic amount if you consider accommodation, food, shopping, entrance fees, tours, and transport.
With the right strategies, however, you can survive on $50 to $75 per day. Multiply that amount with your duration of stay to get the total.
The rest of the form is easy. Fill it in accordingly, write your date of application, and sign the form. Submit it with the rest of your documents and pay the corresponding fee.
ITR and Certificate of Employment
If you file your own taxes, you should have a copy of your ITR. If your income is below the taxable amount then chances are your company or employer took care of it for you. You can try requesting this from Accounting or Human Resources. You only need a photocopy, please keep the original for filing.
Your Certificate of Employment should contain the following information:
- Name of Company/Organization
- Title/Position
- Date Hired
- Compensation
- Office Address
- Office Telephone Number (NOT mobile)
- Office Email Address
You can also supplement this with your Company ID (also useful when going through immigration at the airport) and your most recent pay slip.
I Don’t Have an ITR, What Do I Do?
What do you do if you’re recently employed or you don’t have an ITR? You need to write a letter of explanation detailing why you don’t have an ITR.
Here’s the outline of the letter I provided during my first application:
Date
Address of the Korean Embassy in Cebu or Manila
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am personally writing this letter to explain why I failed to present an Income Tax Return (ITR) as part of my requirements to obtain a Tourist Visa to South Korea.
In my current job as (Position) at (Company) and previously at my job as (Position) at (Company), my basic salary is under the minimum taxable amount of P21,000 pesos. My basic pay at my current job is PXX,XXX, therefore I do not need to file an Income Tax Return.
Paragraph explaining the reason for the trip, information about how the trip will be funded, when will we be in Korea and where we will be staying.
Paragraph explaining why I want to go to Korea as a tourist
Hoping for your kind consideration and favorable action on this matter.
Sincerely,
My Name
Applicant
Type your letter in Times New Roman Font 11 on an A4 sheet of paper and make sure to sign it before including it in your application documents!
How Much Do I Need in my Bank Account?
Remember the amount you wrote for your travel expenses in the application form? In my experience, I made sure to have 1.5x that amount in my personal savings account.
You can request the Bank Certificate and Statement from the branch where you opened an account. Line up for the customer service table at your bank, fill up the form, and pay the corresponding fee.
You can get your documents on the same day if the bank isn’t busy but you might have to spend half your day at the bank. Be prepared. File a leave. Charge your phone. Bring a book.
The Bank Statement for the last three months will show your recent banking activity. It guarantees the Embassy you’re responsible with your money, you have steady income, and you didn’t simply borrow money for your visa application.
The Personal Bank Certificate shows your account type, opening date, the current amount in your bank account, and your Average Daily Balance or ADB. I had enough in my account to match the 1.5x I was going for, but my ADB was low because I only transferred money from my payroll card to my savings account right before applying for the certificate.
A low ADB and a sudden large deposit could look suspicious to the Embassy. They might think it’s not your own money, so prepare at least three months before your visa application by regularly depositing into your savings account. That should motivate you to save for your trip in advance instead of blowing your paycheck as it comes (another mistake I made!).
Conclusion
If you’re a young Filipino who is financially responsible and has a stable job, applying for a Korean tourist visa is easy. If you need more time to save up for your trip, start by saving up so your visa application is as strong as it could be. Start preparing as early as 6 months before your target departure date.
Before getting tempted by that low fare and the romanticism, please remember that South Korea is a country with its own laws and socio political issues. If things get better, maybe they’ll include the Philippines in their visa waiver program but until then, I hope this helps you!
I’ll be writing more about preparing for your Korea trip over the next few days. The next article will be about planning your trip: visa, flight tickets, tours, accommodation, and budget.
많이 기대 해주세요 (Please anticipate it a lot)!
