2026 KOREAN VISA Application Guide for Filipinos Tourists

I was recently granted a multiple-entry Korean visa, while Vins received a single-entry visa. This prompted us to look into the updated Korean visa application process, including how to qualify for a multiple-entry visa, the requirements you need to prepare, and the credit cards that can help make the application process easier.

In this article, we’ll share with you the process of applying for a Korean short-term visa for tourism or business purposes. We’ll only be discussing tourist visas here, since that’s the only type we’ve personally experienced applying for. If you need information about work visa, student visa, or any other visa types, we may not be the best source for those.

DISCLAIMER: We are not employed by or affiliated with the Korean Embassy in Manila or the Korean Visa Application Center (KVAC). We are simply sharing tips based on our own experience.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS GUIDE?

What type of visa should you apply for?

A C-3 Korean visa is a short-term visitor visa to enter South Korea for temporary stays. It’s basically the go-to visa for people traveling for tourism, visiting family/friends, attending events, or short business trips.

Types of C-3 Visas

Under the C-3 category, there are a few common subtypes:

C-3-9 (Tourist Visa). This is the most common, for sightseeing and leisure.
C-3-1 (Short-term general). This is for meetings, conferences, or non-tourism visits.
C-3-4 (Business). This is for short business activities (no local employment).

Validity: Single or multiple entry (depends on approval)
Stay Duration: Usually up to 59 or 90 days per visit, depending on what you will be granted
Purpose: Non-work (you cannot earn income in Korea under this visa)
Visa Fee: FREE for stays of up to 59 days, P2000 for stays of 60-90 days. This is different from the processing fee that the Korean Visa Application Center will charge you. KVAC is a separate entity from the Korean Embassy. I’ll discuss the final cost later.

Korean Visa Requirements

Basic Requirements

Here are the basic requirements. Meaning, regardless of whether you’re an employee or self-employed, you’ll need these documents:

Visa Application Form No. 17. You’ll find the download link here: SK Visa Application Form 17
Later, I’ll discuss how to accomplish this form in detail.
1 piece passport-size colored picture. Here are the guidelines:
– Taken within the past 6 months (should look the same as your current appearance)
– No hat or head cover that blocks the hairline or hair
– Full-face view, facing the camera
– Plain white or off-white background
Original Passport
Photocopy of Passport Bio-page
Original copy & Photocopy of valid visas and arrival stamps from countries that are members of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Only from within the past 5 years. Only if applicable.
You can check the updated list of member countries here: OECD Member Countries
Copy of PRC Card or IBP Card (If applicable only, for professionals like doctors, lawyers, etc.)
Original Personal Bank Certificate. The following details must be indicated:
– Account Name
– Account Type
– Account Number
– Account Opening Date
– Current Balance
– Average Daily Balance (ADB) for the past 6 months

Are bank statements required? Not anymore. Bank statements for the past three (3) months used to be a requirement, but it was waived starting February 20, 2026.

KVAC Waived Bank Statement — Photo Credit: KVAC Facebook Page

Invitation Letter (if invited). There is no specific template for the invitation. You can use any format as long as the necessary details are present. But you might just want to use this sample form from the embassy itself:

Guidelines:

– Must be in both English and Korean.
– No need to have it notarized.
– Must indicate the length of stay, purpose of the invitation, visit expenses, your relationship, and the personal information of the inviter including contact details.

In addition, submit:

– If the inviter is an individual: Photocopy of the inviter’s Korean ID. This can be a resident register card, driver’s license, or alien registration card.

– If the inviter is a company or organization: Photocopy of business registration certificates or unique number certificates for non-profit corporations, government agencies and organizations.

Additional Requirements

In addition to the general requirements above, you’ll also need to provide additional supporting documents depending on your employment status or relationship to the inviter.

For Employees

Photocopy of Income Tax Return (ITR) or BIR Form 2316
Original Certificate of Employment (COE). Must indicate the following details:
– Applicant’s Position
– Date you were hired
– Compensation/Remuneration
– Office Address
– Landline Number of your Employer’s Human Resources
– E-mail Address of your Employer’s Human Resources

NOTE: You might have encountered information stating that if your company doesn’t have a landline number or if the COE does not have a wet or physical signature, a letter explanation is required. But again, that is no longer the case. The rule has been changed recently.

According to the update, “the submission of an explanation letter will be waived in cases where there is no landline number indicated, or when it is issued with an electronic signature. As long as other reachable contact information (email address or mobile phone number) is provided, the document will be accepted.”

For Self-Employed (Business People/Entrepreneurs)

Photocopy of Income Tax Return (ITR) or BIR Form 2316
Photocopy of Business Registration from DTI or SEC
Photocopy of Mayor’s Permit or Business Permit

For Housewives

Original PSA Marriage Certificate
Photocopy of spouse’s Income Tax Return (ITR) or BIR Form 2316
Personal or Spouse’s Original Bank Certificate (indicating the account name, account type, account number, opening date, current balance, and average daily balance (ADB) for the past 6 months)
If spouse is employed: Spouse’s Certificate of Employment (indicating the position, date hired, compensation/remuneration, office address, and contact number and email address of employer’s Human Resources)
If spouse is self-employed:
– Copy of Business Registration from DTI or SEC
– Copy of Mayor’s Permit or Business Permit or Mayor’s Permit

For Students

Original copy of School Certificate or Copy of School ID (as of Feb 20, 2026, it’s an either-or situation, unlike before when both are required)
Original PSA Birth Certificate
Parents’ Original PSA Marriage Certificate
Parents’ Original Bank Certificate (indicating the account name, account type, account number, opening date, current balance, and average daily balance (ADB) for the past 6 months)
Photocopy of spouse’s Income Tax Return (ITR) or BIR Form 2316
If parents are employed: Parents’ Certificate of Employment (indicating the position, date hired, compensation/remuneration, office address, and contact number and email address of employer’s Human Resources)
If parents are self-employed:
– Copy of Business Registration from DTI or SEC
– Copy of Mayor’s Permit or Business Permit or Mayor’s Permit

Others

Religious workers, retirees, and spouse, children, and in-laws of Koreans also need to submit additional requirements. Just visit the VISA REQUIREMENTS page of the website of the Korean Embassy in Manila. But, for your convenience, you can also check the specific links below:

Simplified List of Requirements

A simplified list of requirements program has been extended until December 2026. This reduces the number of documents to be submitted by elected officials, high-ranking government officials, professional license holders, and eligible gold or elite credit card holders. Let’s just focus on the last two.

For Eliigible Credit Card Holders

No need to submit bank documents and ITR, provided that you will submit the following:

Employment Certificate
Copy of Credit Card (front only, with complete information. You only need to cover the 3-digit CVV.)
Latest three (3) months credit card bill (account statement)
For immediate family members: Proof of relationship with the primary card holder (birth certificate or marriage certificate)

What cards are covered?

For BPI and BDO, here are the accepted cards:

Meanwhile, below are the accepted cards for RCBC, Metrobank, and PNB. If you’re holding any of these credit cards, you and your immediate family members (parents, spouse, minor children, and spouse’s parents) can take advantage of it. But for family members, you’ll also need to submit proof of relationship with the primary cardholder. Only primary cardholders and immediate family are eligible, not supplementary cardholders.

For Professional License Holders

No need for bank documents and ITR if you are a physician, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacist, certified public accountant, or lawyer (including prosecutors and judges), and your immediate family members (parents, spouse, minor children, and spouse’s parents), provided that will submit the following:

Copy of PRC Card or IBP Card (for lawyers)
Original Certificate of Employment
For family members: Proof of relationship

If you notice, we didn’t submit flight bookings or hotel reservations. They are NOT required. Even if you include it, the staff will just remove them from the pile. We were actually visiting Korea this time around as part of a cruise, so we included the cruise booking showing that we have a Busan port of call, but they handed it back to me.

How to Accomplish the Visa Application Form

Before we tackle the submission process, let’s first focus on one of the most important document that you need to submit — the visa application form.

First of all, make sure you have the latest version. As of this writing, the most recent version was last revised in February 2022. You can check the previous section of this article for the link.

A few things that you need to note.

It must be printed on an A4-size paper.
Computerized or handwritten? Before the Korean Visa Application Center was established, back when most applications were lodged at travel agencies, there was a rule that the form must be accomplished digitally, except the signature section. There was even a required font: Arial, size 12. I think this was for legibility. Handwritten forms were discouraged. I’m not sure if this rule is still strictly implemented. But I did not follow it. I used Arial size 16. It wasn’t called out or rejected.
For fields that are not applicable to you, leave them blank. Some say put N/A, some say leave it blank. I left it blank and I didn’t have any problem when the KVAC staff checked it. Also, there were fields that I missed and she told me to just fill it in on the spot — handwritten. So there’s that. So they are not totally against handwritten forms, at least in some parts.

So let’s start. The process is actually pretty straightforward for the most part, so let’s go through the sections that might be a bit confusing one by one.

Personal Details

1.2 한자성명 漢字姓名 (Hanja Seongmyeong). This is actually asking for your Korean name. If you don’t have one, just skip it. I left it blank.

1.7 National Identity Number. I don’t have a national ID yet, so I left it blank.

Details of Visa Application

2.1 Period of Stay. I usually just choose short term stay less than 90 days.

2.2 Status of Stay. This is actually the purpose of your visit or the visa type that you’re applying for. If you’re traveling for tourism, write C-3-9 TOURIST or simply TOURIST. (This might be different in your case.)

Below it, you’ll find a section labeled FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING THERE. Leave everything blank.

Let’s move on to PAGE 2.

Passport Information

Everything you need to write here, you can find on your passport’s bio page. But pay extra attention to these fields.

3.1 Passport Type. Choose REGULAR.

3.7 Does the applicant have any other valid passports? If you don’t have one, choose NO. Then leave the fields below it blank.

The next few sections are very easy to understand — Contact Information, Marital Status and Family Details, Education and Employment. Let’s skip to Section 8.

Details of Visit

8.1 Purpose of visit. Tick the box that corresponds to your purpose. In my case, it’s TOURISM/TRANSIT.

8.2 Intended Period of Stay. Just write how many days you plan on staying in Korea. You can write 1 day, 2 days, whatever is true.

8.3 Intended Date of Entry. The date you will enter Korea or the date that your flight will arrive in Korea.

8.4 Address in Korea. If you’re staying at a hotel, write down the hotel’s full address. If you’re visiting on a cruise ship, enter the name of the ship.

8.6 Has the applicant traveled to Korea in the last 5 years? If no, just tick NO and leave the rest blank. I’ve been to Korea a few times before but not within the last 5 years so that’s what I did. If you’ve visited Korea in the last 5 years, enter the purpose and dates of your stay.

8.7 Your travel history excluding Korea within the last five (5) years. Just enter the country, purpose and dates of stay. There are only five rows provided, so if you’ve been to more, you can write it down on a separate sheet.

Details of Invitation

9.1 Is there anyone inviting the applicant for the visa? If no one is inviting you, just choose NO and leave the rest of the section blank. Otherwise, enter their details.

Funding Details

Section 10 is all about Funding Details.

10.1 Estimated travel costs in US dollars. Just enter how much you think you will be spending in Korea. My only guidance here is to make it make sense. Make sure your declared budget matches the length of your stay. For example, if you’re staying for 20 days, don’t put only USD 100 there.

10.2 Who will pay for the applicant’s travel expenses? Notice that there is a note here: Any relevant person including the applicant and/or organization. So if you don’t have a sponsor and you will be funding the trip yourself, write your name in the A field. Then in the B field, write MYSELF. Type of support: FINANCIAL. Then write your contact number.

Assistance with the Form

11.1 Does the applicant receive assistance in completing this form? I did not, so I just chose NO and left the rest blank.

Declaration

This is the last part.

Type the date of application in YYYY / MM / DD format.

Then type your name and sign in the tiny space below APPLICANT NAME and SIGNATURE respectively.

Submitting Your Application

Once you have gathered all the requirements, it’s time to submit them to the Korean Visa Application Center.

You don’t need an appointment or prior reservation. There is an option to schedule an appointment for a fee. But walk-in applicants are accepted.

Here’s the step-by-step submission guide:

1. Make your way to the Korean Visa Application Center in BGC.

Here’s the full address: 9/F (Zone 2) Brittany Hotel, 6 McKinley Parkway, Aura Complex, BGC, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines

Yes, the center is housed in a hotel building — Brittany Hotel — just next to SM Aura.

These are the operating hours for submission of documents: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM

When you arrive, enter the hotel and walk through the hotel café. To your right, you’ll find a single elevator. Ride up to 9th floor. You’ll immediately see the KVAC as soon as you get out of the elevator.

2. Get a number.

AT the entrance to KVAC, you’ll mostly find a queue. If you’re arriving in the afternoon, there will be two queues, one for submission and one for releasing. Make sure you’re in the right queue. When it’s your turn, a staff member will check your documents and give you a number.

If they find that there are missing documents, they will likely tell you. If you need to photocopy something, you can do that here, too.

Some important reminders:

Only the applicants are allowed at the KVAC. Ony children, PWDs, and seniors are allowed a companion.
Photography and video recording are strictly prohibited inside.

Once you have a number, get inside.

3. Wait for your number to be called.

We actually didn’t wait that long, not as long as we expected, at least. We saw online accounts saying they waited for hours. But in our case, from the moment we were given a number, we probably waited for only 30-ish minutes before our number was called.

But perhaps during peak season, you might be in for a long wait. Advance reservation or appointment might be useful then. I don’t know for sure if it’s worth it because I didn’t avail of it.

Once your number is called, proceed to the upper floor. You’ll also be assigned a counter.

4. Submit your documents.

When you approach the assigned counter, the staff will thoroughly check all your documents, including your answers on the application form. They will point out if you missed a field or section and ask you to fill them out.

They will also instruct you to pay the service fee.

5. Pay the service fee.

Remember, if your stay is shorter than 59 days, the actual visa is FREE of charge. You’ll only be paying the service fee.

Service Fee: P900

If you availed of their photocopy process, you need to settle it here too. It costs P20 per page.

Once you have the receipt, go back to your assigned counter. The staff will check your receipt. They will then tell you some important reminders including when you can expect the result and how to check online.

The whole process from our arrival at the KVAC until we left took one hour and 20 minutes.

From here, you’ll be playing a waiting game.

6. Wait for the result.

According to KVAC, as of March 17, 2026, the regular processing time has been extended to 20 working days. So keep this in mind.

Express application takes only five (5) working days.

Regular processing: 20 working days
Express processing: 5 working days

But every day since, we would always check the Korean Visa Website to check the status of our application. So let’s talk about that.

How to Check the Status of your Visa Application

Visit visa.go.kr and click on ENGLISH. Or you can visit https://www.visa.go.kr/main/openMain.do directly. The website looks like this.

On the left menu, hover on CHECK APPLICATION STATUS, then tap on CHECK APPLICATION STATUS AND PRINT.
Select DIPLOMATIC OFFICE and enter your details: passport number, full name (last name, first name format) and birth date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
Click SEARCH.

In the first days, it will display UNDER REVIEW. But eventually when the application is approved (hopefully), it will change to APPROVED.

It will also indicate the type of visa (single-entry or multiple-entry), expiry date of the visa, and status of stay.

It will also display a link button labeled CERTIFICATE that will lead you to a copy of your visa. SAVE IT.

We got the result on February 19, much earlier than the Feb 24 projected date. That’s 12 business days (16 calendar days).

But you should still wait for the so-called “SCREENED and STORED” text message before returning to KVAC to claim your passport. It looks like this:

This message is your go signal to claim your passport.

How to Pick Up Your Passport at the KVAC

The releasing process is pretty much the same as the submission process. Just head to the KVAC at Brittany Hotel in BGC. These are the designated claiming hours: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Go to the KVAC at Brittany Hotel, BGC.
Take the elevator up to 9th floor.
Get a number. But make sure you’re queuing for releasing instead of application.
Once your number is called, go upstairs and proceed to the assigned counter.
Wait for your name to be called and receive your passport.

Make sure it’s really your passport before leaving.

Note that you won’t find any visa sticker anymore. The Korean Embassy stopped using physical visas several years ago. It’s now fully digital.

I just hope that in the future, they won’t need to keep the passport anymore since the visa is digital anyway. Just check it upon submission and hand it back to the traveler. There really is no need to keep it in their possession.

But I was still super grateful because it was my first MULTIPLE-ENTRY visa for Korea.

So how did I manage to get a multiple entry visa?

How to Get Multiple-Entry Korean Visa

There is no clear list of requirements for applications for multiple-entry visa. You can ask for one, but there is no assurance your request would be granted.

How do you request for multiple-entry? Through a cover letter.

Earlier I mentioned that I submitted a cover letter. It looks like this.

In this letter, I justified why I needed one. I said that I am planning to visit Korea twice in the near future. I specified the dates and purpose of those visit, and the details. I also explained my travel history and that I have no record of overstaying ever.

I’m actually quite surprised to be granted multiple entries because I’ve only visited Korea TWICE and it has been 10 years since the last one. But yay, still.

Does submitting a cover letter automatically mean you’ll be granted a multiple-entry visa? Well, NO. Of course not. It’s still completely up to them.

To demonstrate how unpredictable it can be: Vins and I have almost identical travel history and almost identical finances. We submitted the same set of documents, some are shared. Joint bank accounts. Our cover letter was the exact same. But only I was granted multiple entries. Vins got a single-entry visa.

So it’s really hard to tell.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How early should I apply for a Korean visa?

You can enter Korea at any time within the next 3 months (90 days) of the issue date. So if your visa is issued on July 1, you can enter anytime before October 1.

So that means, you can apply as early as 3 months (90 days) before your departure date.

But take note that regular processing takes 20 working days (as of March 2026), so make sure you don’t apply too close to your travel date.

How long would I be allowed to stay in Korea?

59 days, if you’re granted a regular tourist visa.

You can apply for a longer stay, but you must be able to justify that.

Do I need to book flights and hotels before applying?

No. They’re not required. I’ve tried submitting these before, but they removed it from the pile.

How long does the entire visa application take?

According to the KVAC, these are the processing times:

Regular processing: 20 working days
Express processing: 5 working days

We applied before this update. We were told it would take 18 working days, but we actually received word that our visa was approved after 12 working days only.

I think the volume of applications also matter. If it’s peak season, it could take longer. But apply early to be safe.

How much is a Korean Visa?

Here are the current visa fees:

For stays shorter than 59 days: GRATIS (FREE)
For stays 60 days or longer: P2000

On top of that, KVAC charges a service fee:

Regular Processing: P900
Express Processing: P1400 service fees + P1000 visa fee

What does a Korean visa look like?

Protect your finances when traveling!

Getting a travel insurance is optional, but we highly recommend this, especially when traveling abroad. Travel can be unpredictable, and though we hope we’ll never use it, having it gives us peace of mind in case of unexpected delays, cancellations, or emergencies.

For international destinations, consider PGA Sompo’s TravelJOY Plus insurance. You can GET IT HERE. Don’t forget to use WORTHIT for a special affordable rate.

Join The Poor Traveler Support Group

✅ If you have any questions or need travel tips, feel free to post them to the TPT Support Group. The members are very helpful. This Facebook support group has been around for a long time, and many members have found travel buddies through it. You can join too! Just visit The Poor Traveler Support Group. Note that this is different from The Poor Traveler Facebook page.

Updates Log

2026 5 24 – First uploaded

Edited by: Asta Alvarez