KOREAN VISA FOR FILIPINOS (KOREAN VISA PHILIPPINES 2020)

Last updated on April 7th, 2021 at 03:17 pm

South Korea is very close to the Filipino heart. The culture has been very close in the last decade, that travel between South Korea and the Philippines is almost inevitable. We are writing a full travel guide Korean visa for Filipinos and how to apply Korean Visa Philippines 2020. Read here Korea tourist sim card and how to get from Seoul airport to city center.

Filipinos are so into Koreans, not only as a worldwide fad, but as part of our own everyday lives. We eat Korean food, and the kimchi, a Korean side dish, is now a staple in Filipino homes.

Read here Japan visa for Filipino and how to apply Schengen Visa Philippines!

Korean cuisine is a huge favorite, you can almost find an unlimited Samgyeoupsal (Korean Pork Barbecue) restaurant everywhere. Filipinos know the basic phrases in Korean language like Good Morning or Hello ahn-nyong-ha-se-yo, and I love you (“Saranghaeyo” (사랑해요) or “Saranghamnida’ ( 사랑합니다).

And of course, there’s the Koreanovelas. The Korean Soap Shows are already part of prime time Filipino television that you can see them on TV every day, as part of daily TV viewing.

As for Koreans, the Philippines serve as a second home to many of them, what with the cheaper and more efficient way of studying English. A lot of Koreans have built living communities and Korean towns in the Philippines for home and business life. 

As much as Koreans want to be here, Filipinos have of course been highly curious and interested to visit South Korea. The number of Philippine visitors in South Korea is set to even grow more and more in the coming years so we figured to visit South Korea ourselves. 

It’s a dream destination for us, and I (Rachel) have to apply a tourist visa to visit South Korea.

Read here how to get from Osaka airport to city center.

WHEN TO START APPLYING KOREAN VISA FOR FILIPINOS

Here’s the complete requirements when applying for your Tourist Korean Visa in the Philippines. 

PICKING A TRAVEL AGENCY FOR KOREAN VISA PHILIPPINES

South Korea, like Japan, only accepts Philippine tourist visa applications lodged thru their accredited agencies. 

Because of the large number of applications the Korean embassy have been receiving, lines outside the office are very long, and sometimes people have to stand for hours. Working thru agencies will avoid these problems. 

I processed my Japan tourist visa at the same time as my Korean visa, and I did everything with Constellation Travels, Inc. It was very important for me to have clear instructions for the application process and to have an that answers their emails immediately, and out of all the agencies we contacted, Constellation Travels replied the fastest and has provided us with all the information I needed promptly. 

I completed all the requirements for my Japan and Korean Tourist visa and sent them all via LBC to Constellation.

Still need to see the full list of accredited agencies for your South Korea visa application? You can see the updated list here.

KOREAN VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR FILIPINOS

Save this image to your computer or phone for easy access later. Read the full description of each requirements in the blog post bel ow.

1. Application Form printed in A4 sized bond paper (see attached in PDF and MS Word formats; must be computerized or typed using Arial font size 12 and should follow the same page numbers; fields not applicable should be left blank)
2. 1 passport sized colored picture (with collar; colored, white background without name plate); to be glued on first page of application form
3. Original Passport (should be valid for more than 6 months)
   1. Affix signature on PAGE 3 for newly issued passports
   1. Fill up emergency contact page at the back
   1. Submit photocopy of passport biometric page
4. If applicable: Old passport/-s showing previous travels for the past 5 years + photocopy of biometric page
5. If applicable: photocopies of OECD visas/stamps issued within the last 5 years (such as those issued by the US, Schengen countries, Canada, Japan, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc). Kindly refer to the following link for a complete list of OECD Member Countries: Read here.

If employed:

1. Original Certificate of Employment with position, salary and length of employment (must be printed on official company letterhead with contact details of company and date of issue)
   1. **Photocopy of income tax return (ITR) or Form 2316

For self-employed applicants:

1. Clear copy of DTI/SEC Registration; SEC Registration must include pages with the names of stockholders
   1. Clear copy of latest business/mayor’s permit
   1. **Photocopy of ITR (Income Tax Return) or Form 2316, with pages including net income and total revenue

If seafarer:

1. Original Certificate of Sea Service
   1. Clear copy of first page of seaman’s book
   1. Clear copy of POEA contract
2. For retired senior citizen: Copy of senior citizen ID
3. If applicable: copy of PRC card or IBP card
4. Original Philippine-issued Personal Bank Certificate (must include account type, current balance, account opening date and 6 months average balance or ADB)

1. Philippine-issued Personal Bank Statement showing transactions for the past 3 months (original or certified true copy)
2. If foreign national residing in the Philippines: clear copies of ACR I-card and Philippine visa (must have stayed for a minimum of 2 years in the Philippines; foreign national to also provide proof of stay for minimum of 2 years)
3. For family members travelling together: proof of relationship, such as the NSO/PSA marriage contract and/or birth certificate (clear copy)
4. For students and/or those with sponsors
   1. Original School Certificate
   1. Copy of school ID
   1. Photocopy of NSO/PSA birth certificate
   1. Documents of sponsor (must be the parent/-s, any immediate family member or relative)
      1. Proof of relationship such as NSO/PSA birth certificate and/or marriage contract (clear copy)
      1. If sponsor is employed: Certificate of Employment on official letterhead showing salary, position and length of employment + copy of ITR or Form 2316
      1. If sponsor is self-employed: Copy of business registration from SEC/DTI + Copy of business/mayor’s permit + copy of ITR or Form 2316
      1. If sponsor is an OFW: Copy of employment contract + copy of residence/work visa
      1. Original Philippine bank certificate of sponsor (must include account type, current balance, account opening date and 6 months average balance or ADB)
      1. Philippine bank statement of sponsor (original or certified true copy) showing transactions for 3 months
      1. Affidavit of support (if sponsor is not an immediate family member of the applicant)

If invited by a Korean national: submit invitation letter + copy of the inviter’s passport or identification card

If invited by a company in Korea: submit invitation letter + copy of Korean company business permit

If travelling for business: submit an endorsement/guarantee letter from company in the Philippines

OTHER REMARKS

1. **Submission of the income tax return or ITR is waived for any of the following applicants:

1. Those who have travelled to South Korea more than two times within the last 4 years.
   1. Those who have travelled at least once, within the last 5 years, to any OECD member country (except Japan) such as the the US, Schengen countries, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, among others. Kindly refer to the following link for a complete list of OECD member countries: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/list-oecd-member- countries.htm.

For Multi-entry visa Applications

• The following are eligible to apply for multiple-entry visas, as long as they can submit their original or printed electronic statement of account for the past 3 months and copy of their credit/ATM card (front portion only). They are also exempted from submitting their Bank Certificate and ITR when applying.

BDO Gold Cardholders : multiple-entry visa to Korea valid for 5 years (Valid until December 31, 2022.)

• Gold Visa Credit Card
• Gold MasterCard Credit Card
• Gold UnionPay Credit Card
• Gold JCB Credit Card
• American Express Gold Credit Card

BDO Elite Cardholders : multiple-entry visa to Korea valid for 5years (Valid until December 31, 2022.)

• Platinum Visa Credit Card
• Titanium, Platinum and World Elite MasterCard
• American Express Platinum Credit Card
• Cathay Pacific American Express Credit Cards(Standard and Elite)
• American Express Internatiomal Dollar Charge Cards
• Diamond UnionPay
• Diners Club Premiere
• JCB Platinum

RCBC Bankard Premium Cardholders 5years multiple-entry Visas (Valid until December 30, 2020.)

• World Mastercard (including co-brands Balesin and The City Club)
• Black Platinum Mastercard
• Diamond Platinum Mastercard
• Visa Infinite
• Visa Platinum

• JCB Platinum
• UnionPay Diamond

Latest 3month original hard copy credit card account Monthly Billing Statement(MBS) and photocopy of the credit card should be submitted.

For cardholders enrolled in electronic Monthly Billing Statement(eMBS), they must present a printed copy of eMBS

Note: Eligible applicants are not automatically issued a multiple entry visa. Issuance of visa whether single or multiple entry is subject for approval of the Consul in-charge. In case cardholder is unable to submit credit card statements for the past 3 months, he/she will be required to submit his/her recent bank certificate (original) and his/her bank statement showing transactions for the past 3 months (original or certified true copy).

Korean Visa for Filipinos Processing Time and Application Fees

The standard processing period, once lodged, is from 25 to 30 working days.

Constellation’s service fee is Php 700 per pax.

CTI accepts applications from Mon to Fri (except holidays), from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. A representative may submit the requirements’ on the applicants’ behalf.

Additional Fees / More Information

Additional visa fees will be charged by the Embassy for those intending to stay for more than 59 days and/or for foreign nationals. Additional visa fees will be charged by the Embassy for those intending to stay for more than 59 days and/or for foreign nationals.

Express/expedite service may be allowed for the applicants listed below, with processing to be a minimum of 5 working days. The Embassy will charge an additional Php 1,000per pax for the express/expedite request.

1. The applicant who is invited by a Korean government and public agency
2. The applicant who is invited by a Korean company, school and organization
3. The family members of Korean nationals (parents, spouse, children, family of spouse, etc.)
4. The applicant who needs urgent medical treatment, with accidents and with humanitarian reason

Flights and Booking Details for Korean Visa Philippines

Showing flights and booking details are not needed. Flights are not recommended to be purchased in advance because of the amount of processing time of the visa.

However, with all the experience I have applying for visas, I like to submit more documents if possible.

For my Korean Visa for Filipinos application, I submitted hotel books. You can book your places of stay here, matching your intended cities of visit and schedule.

I booked real rooms and printed real accommodation bookings WITHOUT paying anything. Make sure to choose accommodations that provide free cancellations and no booking fees so you will not have to be charged anything. You can do with Agoda or Booking.

WHEN TO START APPLYING KOREAN VISA FOR FILIPINO

Applications Korean visa for Filipinos can be logdged in as early as 3 months before your intended trip. It is advisable to give ample time for your application because it takes 25-30 business days to have it approved.

But of course, we’re here to help you get your visa approved right? There’s no reason you won’t be able to visit Korea if you have the complete requirements.

Book your accommodations in Korea through Agoda or Booking.

Click here if you want to get your discount booking activities in Korea with Klook!

Click here to get a pretty sweet discount on your first booking with AirBnB! 

Having insurance while you are traveling outside your home country is very important. Make sure that you have one too, to keep you safe in your trips around the world.

KOREAN VISA FOR FILIPINOS PROCESSING TIME

*CORONA VIRUS UPDATE:

The only worry right now is that travel from the Philippines to parts of Korea is currently banned. 

There you have it. All the latest Korean visa for Filipinos requirements to get your Korean Visa Application approved. Upon publishing this post, I was approved for a 90-day tourist visa to Korea.

Next up, Korean things to see and do! We’ll link up to that article here when it’s published.

Book your accommodations in Japan through Agoda or Booking.

Click here if you want to get your discount booking activities in Korea with Klook!

Click here to get a pretty sweet discount on your first booking with AirBnB! 

Having insurance while you are traveling outside your home country is very important. Make sure that you have one too, to keep you safe in your trips around the world.

Email us or comment below if you have any questions how to apply Korean visa for Filipinos and we’d love to help! Korean visa Philippines requirements for Filipinos and Japan visa processing time everything that would you love to know.