March 2016 when me, my mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law talked about having an all girls trip to South Korea over dinner. But it wasn't until early May that we finally decided to push thru. To enter South Korea, we needed visas.
Applying for a Korean tourist visa is free. We choose to process our application ourselves and not thru an agency which would of course ask for a processing fee. Since my mother-in-law is retired and I'm a stay at home mom, we have the luxury of time to prepare our requirements and go to the Korean embassy Cebu (mostly my mother-in-law).
All requirements can be found on their website.
- Check the visa application requirements online.
Note that there are different types of visas. Check which category you belong.
We belong to different categories, therefore we had different sets of requirements.
- Me- housewife
- Mother-in-law- retired, with a used visa from an OECD member country
- Sister-in-law #1- businesswoman
- Sister-in-law #2- employed
- My husband- employed
- My 6 year old son- school age child
- My 2 year old niece
*Did I mention that my husband and my son decided to join us? So yeah, they did.
- Complete all requirements.
All application requirements are checked if they are complete before the embassy accepts it.
Please make sure you complete all and make sure that each requirement contains all information specified.
Example:
Certificate of employment should include HR telephone number
Compensation
(Korean embassy in Cebu checks your employment)
There was a delay in the release of our visas because the HR of my husbands company has not replied to the communication that the embassy sent them. My husband had to make a call and the day after our visas were released.
Bank certification should include ADB (Average Daily Balance) for the past 6 months. I highly recommend you include your payroll bank account.
BIR form 2316 should have a stamp from BIR that they have received your tax withheld.
Both my husband and my sister-in-law #2 didn't have stamps. It would take time if the HR of their companies will do it. Thanks to my mother-in-law who went to BIR Cebu and have their forms stamped.
- Download and complete the visa application form.
The form will ask you to indicate the hotel where you will be staying. If you have not booked a hotel yet, there are hotels in Agoda which you can book, pay nothing until a certain date and you can cancel it for free if you change your mind.
Not included in the requirements but we have included in submitting is an itinerary of our stay in Korea.
Processing time may take up to 5 working days but if you have travelled to an OECD member country, it would only take 3 working days.
My mother-in-law has a used Shengen visa from her recent Euro trip including France,Portugal and Italy which are OECD member countries.
Me, my husband and my son have travelled to 3 different countries within the last 5 years but not to an OECD member country.
Both my sisters-in-laws and my niece went to Hong Kong within the last 5 years. Hong Kong is not an OECD member country.
No plane tickets booked yet during our visa application submission.
Me- APPROVED
Mother-in-law- APPROVED
Sister-in-law #1- DENIED
Sister-in-law #2- APPROVED
My husband- APPROVED
My 6 year old son- APPROVED
My 2 year old niece- APPROVED
Sis-in-law #1 got DENIED.
Reason: Failed to prove purpose of entry
She has failed to complete all requirements related to her business. She can apply again after 6 months.
Our visas got approved May 30,2016 after 7 working days from day of application. We had to scramble to leave immediately (because school starts June 13 and we have a school boy). Bought airplane tickets, direct flight from Cebu to Incheon, accomodation thru Airbnb, reserved our park tickets, changed currencies etc. June 10 we arrived in Incheon. My son had to be absent from school for a few days.
