Hello, travel junkies! My family and I recently applied for a Korean tourist visa through the Korean Visa Application Center (KVAC) in Manila and thought that I should share with you the steps I did in order to get one. 😉
- Download and sign the data privacy consent form here.
- Download the application form here. I highly recommend that you fill up the form directly through a laptop and don't forget to print in A4 sized paper.
- Fill up the application form honestly, bonus points if you can provide proof of travel plus active visas from other OECD countries. You also don't need to provide airline or hotel details, just type in Not Applicable (or NA).
- Attach latest passport size colored picture to the application form, make sure you inform the photo studio that you are applying for a Korean visa so the dimension should be 35x45mm.
- Photocopy the passport bio-page
- Photocopy valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD countries for the past 5 years
- Certificate of Employment
- Bank certificate (6 months average balance) and bank statement (from the past 3 months)
- Photocopy of ITR or Form 2316
If you're a stay-at-home wife like me with kids, you need to add the following documents:
- Newly requested PSA marriage license certificate
- Affidavit of Support (1 copy each for you and the kids) NOTE: No need to attach extra bank certs/statements for you and the kids, those should be attached to the application form of whoever is funding your trip. In our case, it was all attached to my husband's application form.
If your kids are in school, you also need to add the following to their application:
- Certificate of Enrollment
- Photocopy of school ID
Don't forget your passports and the processing fee of PHP900.00 per person. Once you have all these documents, you may now walk-in to KVAC which is located in the 9th floor of Brittany Hotel beside SM Aura at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The receptionist will check your papers and if complete, you will be given a number so you can head on to the next step which is the processing of your application.
There were only a few people when I got there around 9AM.
I submitted our application last February 4, 2025. Luckily, most of my documents were there. Only thing I forgot was the photocopy of my son's school ID. They just asked me to write a short letter to the consul as to why I forgot to do so. I literally just wrote my apologies and hoped that the provided Certificate of Enrollment would suffice. 😅 Once processing is done, you will receive a confirmation text from KVAC regarding your application.
By Feb 5, I received another message from KVAC. This is just another SMS confirmation that your application is still processing. So even if you try to check the status online, there won't be any results.
Fast forward to February 13, 2025, I finally got the confirmation text that our passports are now ready for pick-up. Once you have received this message, you now have the option to download the results online. I opted for pick-up since delivery costs additional PHP300.00 per passport for Metro Manila address. 👀
To check the status of your application, just go to visa.go.kr, make sure tap on the "English" link to translate the whole website in english. Look for the Check Status Application & Print link and enter the details asked:
Gam-sa-ham-nida for the 5 year multiple-entry visa, South Korea! 💖
Processing was on time since they mentioned that earliest estimate release of our passports would be February 14, 2025. Overall, it took around 7 working days to process, excluding weekends!
