HOW TO APPLY SOUTH KOREA TOURIST VISA (FOR FILIPINOS)

Finally, a little time to write after a year of not posting anything!!

And my first post is....what else but ~~ South Korea!! 

Hmm this ajumma finally had a chance to visit and sniff kimchi in South Korea!!hihi ~~~ (and I'll blog my adventure there but before that here's my 1st entry)

Well here's what you need to visit Seoul - Visa. If you're Filipino like me, lucky you because it's free!! It’s generally FREE, but you still have to apply for it and visa release is as short as 3 days and as long as a week!!         

 Applying South Korean tourist visa in the Philippines is not as easy and straight forward as before because last February 17, 2015 the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines issued new requirements. But don’t worry if you have fund to show and complete requirements it’s just a piece of cake.      

 

The new requirements for Korean tourist visa effective March 1, 2015.

Steps
A. Gathered all the needed documents,
1. Application Form (you can download here)
2. 1 piece of Passport size colored picture
3. Original Passport (should be valid for more than 6months)
4. Photocopy of Passport Bio-page (page 2)
5. Original & Photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years (If applicable, and Korean Visas will not be counted)
6. Original Certificate of Employment
   (must include applicant's position, date hired, compensation, office address, HR landline number (cell-phone number is not allowed), HR e-mail address)
7. Original Personal Bank Certificate
   (must include account type, current balance, account opening date, ADB)
8. Bank Statement
   (original or certified true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last 3 months)
10. Photocopy of ITR (Income Tax Return) or Form 2316

B. Photocopy your OECD visas, (if you have, if none skip this)
 OECD visas help a lot, it will expedite the process of your Korean visa and cut short the waiting period.

C. Once completed go to the Embassy and submit your requirements, No need for appointments, visa application happens every day from 9.00am to 11.00am only.

Address : 122 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig city 1634, Philippines
Contact number : 632 856-9210 local no. 270 or 500.

Here’s how the process goes:
a. Register and leave an ID at the guard’s station before entering the consular center.
b. Once inside, get a number from the personnel stationed by the door. He will check if you have all the docs. If he’s satisfied with your documents, he will give you a number.
c. Wait for your number to be called. Note that there are separate windows for those with and without past OECD visas.
d. Once called, the staff will double check the requirements and gives you a slip of paper with the DATE OF RELEASE in it.
e. Then you’re done - Mine was less than a minute.

IMPORTANT!

Schedule of application: Monday-Friday 9am-11am only, be there on time! I remember going there 10 minutes before the cut off time! LOL.

■ Processing Time
: 3 working days (for those who have been to OECD member countries within 5 years as tourist)
  5 working days (for those who have not been to OECD member countries within 5 years)

■ Visa Fee: 59 days (or less) stay in Korea -- GRATIS
                   60 to 90 days stay in Korea -- PHP1,800.005.

Lastly claim your visa on the scheduled date of release.
Releasing of visa schedule: Monday-Friday 2pm-4pm

Tip 
1. Make sure all your documents are complete and fully accomplished before submitting
2. Your Bank Saving should have at least 30k (as per the experience of someone I know), if more than that the better, basically you just need to show that you have the capacity to pay for your trip.
3. Also check the embassy’s WEBSITE for updates.

Lastly, Good luck and enjoy your trip!