Unfortunately, Philippine Passport holders are required to get a visa when traveling to South Korea. But do not let that stop you from visiting this country, trust me it’s worth the time and effort. Also, it is super easy to secure a tourist visa and it’s free if you are staying for 59 days or less.
Update: According to Manila Bulletin’s article on April 13, 2017, travelers on group tours who are bound for Jeju Island with connecting flights in Incheon or Gimhae Airport will be allowed entry in mainland Korea for five days without a visa starting in June 2017. See full details here.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert and have no connections with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. This article is based on my research before I applied for a tourist visa.
Step 1. Prepare the visa requirements
The following list of requirements is for employees, if you are self-employed, business owners or others, click here.
- Application Form – You can download the form here. You can fill in the form with information before you print it. Or just print it and write the necessary information like what we did, just make sure you write legibly and avoid erasures.
- 1 piece of Passport size colored picture – the embassy did not require any background color but we had ours in white background.
- Original Passport – should be valid for more than 6 months.
- Photocopy of Passport Bio-page – the page with your picture and information.
- Original & Photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years (If applicable only) – click here for the list of OECD countries.
- Original Certificate of Employment (COE)- (must include applicant’s position, date hired, compensation, office address, HR landline number (cell-phone number is not allowed) and HR e-mail address. Our COE did not include HR email and we still got approved, but of course it’s better if you have all information included in the COE.
- Original Personal Bank Certificate – (must include account type, current balance, account opening date, ADB) Just tell your bank that you need it for visa application. We have our savings account with BPI, good thing we did not have to go to the branch where we opened the account to get this requirement. The certificate costs Php100 and it was charged to the account. We were able to get the certificate on the same day. Thumbs up, BPI!
- Bank Statement – (original or certified true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last 3 months) We also got this from BPI on the same day.
- ITR (Income Tax Return) or Form 2316 Copy – You can get a copy from your employer. According to the embassy’s website, frequent travelers who have traveled as tourist to OECD member countries within 5 years are exempted from submitting ITR.
- Copy of PRC Card or IBP Card (If applicable only)
Step 2. Submit complete requirements to Korean Embassy
You do not need an appointment when submitting your requirements. The embassy is accepting application from 8:30-11 am only, every Monday to Friday. You have to be there before 10:30 AM to allow time for processing.
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 — PHP1,800.00
Step 3. Pick up your passport and hopefully with the visa
Releasing time is only from 1:30-4 pm. Do not forget to bring your claim stub.
TIPS:
- Arrange the requirements the way they are listed above. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT submit any fake document.
- Proof of relationship is required for family application (eg. Marriage Contact, Birth Certificate)
- If you are traveling with a group, a representative can submit all the requirements and pick up your passports.
- I suggest you go to the embassy early, we arrived there at around 6:30AM and there were already about 8 people waiting. We immediately listed ourselves on the visitor’s log and then left to have breakfast in a nearby restaurant (Jollibee). If you do this, make sure you come back before 7:30AM because the guard will start calling names and allow entry at this time.
- Many people are asking how much should be the balance on your bank account. Honestly, I do not know, we did not have much when we applied, it was only enough to cover a 6-day trip. I read from another blog (sorry I couldn’t remember the name) that the average cost of the trip is US$100 per day, so for a 5 day trip, it’s $500 plus hotel and airfare, it is safe to assume that $1000 or Php50,000 is enough. You may spend way less than this but to be on the safe side have at least this much on your bank account.
- You DO NOT need to book flights and hotels before applying for visa. You can put “Undecided” in the address in Korea field in your application form.
- DO NOT apply more than 3 months prior to the date of travel because the visa validity is only for 3 months
- Allow enough time before your departure date, according to embassy’s website, there is no expedite processing.
- In case you get denied, you can re-apply after 6 months.
How to get to the Korean Embassy in Taguig
Ride a bus or MRT and alight at Guadalupe Station. Take a short walk to Guadalupe market and from there you can catch a jeepney going to C-5 Tenement. Tell the driver to drop you off at Korean Embassy.
For your convenience you can take a taxi, Uber or Grab.
Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines
Address : 122 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig city 1634, Philippines; Tel : (63-2) 856-9210, Fax : (63-2) 856-9008 | Hours of Operation : 08:30~17:00 (Mon-Fri)
Hope this article helps you in your Korean Tourist Visa application. Comment below for any suggestion or question.
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