Planning a trip to South Korea? Whether you’re dreaming of exploring Seoul’s bustling streets, visiting ancient palaces, or indulging in authentic Korean BBQ, securing your visa is the first step! One of the most important parts of how to fill out a South Korea visa application form is doing it correctly—any mistakes can lead to delays or even rejection.
Many countries offer digital nomad visas for Filipinos, and planning how to become a freelancer is tough. But it’s usually the first few steps like getting your visa that baffles most people. So to help you get it right the first time, here’s a step-by-step guide with easy instructions!
“The A-Z on Becoming a Digital Nomad” is also a great guide, but in a much larger scale. You might consider getting a copy and learn what it means to be a digital nomad like me!
The South Korean Visa Application Form has a new version deleting the “Details of Visa Issuance Confirmation” section on the second page.
You can get a copy of the latest form at the South Korean Embassy website, Korea Visa portal or Korea Visa Application Center, or through here. Ready your personal information and travel document, and let’s do this together!
ADVISORY: As of September 23, 2024, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines has adjusted the processing time for short-term visit (C-3) visas to 12 working days, with express applications taking 5 working days.
South Korea Visa Application Form
First to do in the Visa Application process, you will need to download the form. It’s better to do this electronically and not in writing as you can edit it immediately. It would help if you also wrote as neatly as possible in case you want to write.
However, there’s a PDF and Document available, and I highly recommend this. Click the link to download the form. Print it at an A4 sized paper.
Tips
- Please Fill in Block Letters or Capital Letters, make sure the CAPS LOCK is on so that’s easier
- Prepare your Check symbol or simply copy it from the form
- In case you have blank answers, write N/A (Not Applicable)
- As per the examples below, I just used another color so that you will know what to fill up, but make sure you use black pen / ink
- Information provided here is not 100% true as this is just an example; however, you must provide factual information on your application
1. Personal Details
On the first page, ready your passport (s) for the information asked.
- Full name in English or the characters of your passport, in case you have a Middle name, you can skip writing it as Koreans usually don’t have one
- Chinese Name or Chinese Characters of your English Name
- Your gender
- Birthdate using the format given – Year, Month, Day in numbers
- Nationality
- Country of Birth
- National Identity No. – these are mostly for citizens of countries who each have an identity number, for Filipinos as we don’t have one you can put “N/A.”
- In case you have other names used in your previous application or visit to South Korea, enter it, if none, just plainly check “No” and write “N/A.”
- If you are a dual citizen, answer the question “yes” and list the country you are a citizen of, if not check “No” and write “N/A.”
2. Details of Visa Application
This is the newest part of the Visa Application Form. Make sure they are in line with your purpose of visit.
- Period of Stay – you will need to choose if it’s long-term or short-term
- Status of Stay – there are many categories you could choose, here are common ones:
Short Term:
- C-2 Short-term Business
- C-3-9 Tourist
- C-3-1 Short-term (General)
- C-3-3 Medical Tourist
- C-3-4 Business Visitor (General)
Long-Term
- F-1 Visiting or Joining Family
- F-2 Resident
- F-6 Marriage to Korean Citizen
That’s it for page one, don’t write anything under “For Official Use Only.”
3. Passport Information
Let’s go now to the second page, ready your passport again.
- Passport Type – check which category is applicable, we usually have the Regular one
- Passport Number – found in the bio-page
- Issuing Country
- Where the passport is issued
- Issuance Date – you can use the format in your passport
- Expiry date
- If you have another passport, write the information asked
4. Contact Information
- Home Country address or your permanent address
- In case you are currently living in another place that’s’ different from your home address then type it – you can place N/A if it’s the same
- Your functioning cellphone number
- Telephone number
- E-mail address
- Emergency Contact Information
5. Marital Status
- In case you are single or divorced, check the category and type N/A
- Your Civil Status
- Information about your partner
- If you both have children, you answer this question – this pertains to humans, and I would like to answer 6 if cats were included (haha)
6. Education
- The highest degree you have – if you are up to college, then its Bachelor’s Degree, should you be up to elementary – then check other and write Elementary Graduate or up to Grade 10, etc.
- Name of the school – this one is related to the 6.1 question, so basically where you graduated from or attended school last
- Address of the school indicated in 6.2 – in city, province, country format
7. Employment
- Choose which category suits you best – if you are a government employee, it’s under civil servant, businessmen are entrepreneurs, freelancers, or digital nomads can consider themselves self-employed.
- Details of employment – Make sure the details here are the same as the papers you are going to submit – Certificate of Employment, Business Permit, School Certificate, etc.
8. Details of Visit
This is one of the most crucial parts of your application.
- Purpose of Visit – if you are there for tourism, check tourism, however, if you got invited by a friend it’s better to use visiting family/relatives/friends especially if you are staying in their place rather than hotels. Be careful here as this is one of the most common reasons in getting denied for a South Korea Tourist Visa.
- How many days you will be staying in Korea – your budget must be enough for your stay
- Planned date of entry
- Where you are staying in Korea
- Contact number in Korea – you can use the hotel’s number
- Previous travels to South Korea in the last 5 years
- Previous travels to other countries in the previous 5 years – you can refer to your passport
- Family member – spouse, parents, siblings, or children that are currently in South Korea
- Family member – spouse, parents, siblings, or children that are traveling with you to South Korea – this does not include friends, you must have the same details of visit in the application
Don’t forget to secure your travel insurance along with all necessary papers in your visa application. It’s just as important as your reusable water bottle or travel vitamins – it keeps you feel relaxed and assured of an enjoyable trip!
9. Details of Invitation
In case you are invited to Korea by a friend, relative, or family or a company, then you must state their information.
10. Funding Details
- Estimated travel costs, it’s usually days of stay x USD 100
- The one who will pay for your expenses – if you are paying for yourself, then you can put “Myself,” in case another person will, then you have to provide their information. You’ll need a guarantee letter also and the financial documents of the person, especially if you are unemployed or don’t have enough funds.
11. Assistance with the form
You can leave this blank, as the travel agent who will assess your documents and pass this to you will put in their details here.
12. Declaration
Read the notice before signing the declaration. Make sure to double-check your answers.
Final Thoughts
There you go! Now you know how to fill up a South Korea Visa Application Form. So far, these are all the visa information we can find about e-visa application on the internet.
Also, take note of them and keep all your important files in a document organizer to find them in order!
Check out our other South Korea Visa articles to help you with your application as well as your trip to South Korea. And if you can, asking immigration officers and travel agencies about the criteria and fees will also help you a lot. Good luck!
FAQ
The visa approval rate for South Korea is relatively high, but around 10% of applications face rejection due to incomplete or inaccurate documentation. To avoid delays or denials, applicants must ensure all required documents are correctly submitted.
Once the Embassy starts to review your application, it may take up to 3 weeks to receive your visa result. During peak seasons, processing times may extend to 3–8 weeks. To ensure timely visa processing, we strongly recommend planning ahead and submitting your application well in advance
For entry to Korea, all foreigners must have a K-ETA or a valid visa to enter Korea. The K-ETA process will take around 72 hours up to a week and the result will be sent to your email address directly. Please have the printed hard copy ready. Please check from the K-ETA website if your nationality requires a K-ETA.
About the Writer
Hey, I’m Lyza! I once was a person who just imagined going to places “one day” but decided to pursue my dreams. My first travel abroad was in Japan, solo, last 2018, and fell in love with the journey since. I’m aiming to visit 10 countries before turning 30 and 2 new places in the Philippines every year. Besides traveling, I love organizing trips, photography, reading, and making new friends. Follow my adventures through my Instagram.