The Korean Tourist Visa for your Holiday or Visiting a Family
If you are considering of travelling to South Korea as a tourist or to visit a relative or friend, then applying for a Korean tourist visa can become a necessary task.
Generally, you can apply for the necessary Korean tourist visa online/ at the nearest Korean consulate in the country where you live, for a stay in South Korea of up to 3 months.
General Visa Requirements and Validity Period of Korean Tourist Visa
Before applying for a tourist visa for South Korea, it is recommended you check whether you can apply for the Korean tourist visa.
A brief list of the most important requirements and conditions when getting the tourist visa for South Korea:
- You do not intend to conduct voluntary work that would otherwise be performed by a paid worker in South Korea.
- You do not plan to join a work relationship in South Korea.
- You do not intend to give services to Korean organisations (this is permitted with a Korean work visa or business visa).
- You do not intend to give or offer product or services to consumers in South Korea.
- You and your family members are not in debt to the South Korea Government.
- You do not present a risk to the health or safety and security of the people of South Korea.
- You have the ability to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to finance your stay and return from South Korea.
Do you need a Korean tourist visa?
It relies on your citizenship and also the type of travel document you are using to take a trip to South Korea.Please visit here to verify if you require a Korean visa.
Who exactly can make an application for a Korean tourist visa?
Any individual choosing to go on vacation to South Korea can request a Korean tourist visa.
There are several kinds of visa for South Korea which you can use as a visitor to South Korea. If you are uncertain which sort of Korean tourist visa you need to apply, please contact the closest Korean visa office to get further information as aim of this page is to give you basic overview when making an application for Korean tourist visa.
What kind of Korean visa do I require?
This depends upon 3 factors:
- The nationality according to your passport – If the citizenship according to the passport is from a nation that is on visa free travel to South Korea or eligible to apply for a visa on arrival in South Korea, then you may not require to make an application for a Korean tourist visa prior to leaving from your home country. Please click on this link to confirm if you need a Korean visa.
- The duration of your stay in South Korea – If you wish to stay in South Korea for a much shorter duration no more than 90 days, then you can apply for the Korean tourist visa. If you wish to stay much longer, then speak to the local Korean visa office to secure the suitable visa for your travel.
- The activities you hope to perform in South Korea – If your sole purpose of taking a trip is for holiday, then you can make an application for all kinds of Korean tourist visas stated on this page.
General Visa Application Requirements to Make An Application For Korean Traveller Visa
- Holiday visa application for South Korea – Completed Korean visa application form.
- Original and signed passport – The passport should be valid for at least 6 months before going into South Korea and 3 months after leaving South Korea. It should have at least two extra visa web pages and can not be older than ten years.
- Passport type photo – Photo needs to be no older than six months and need to be 35 x 40mm in width.
- Previous passport – Provide a previous passport if you had any.
- Previous visas – Copies of previous Korean visas information if you had any.
- Flight tickets to South Korea – Reservation of return or round trip flight tickets. In some instances the Korean visa office may request pre-paid flight tickets to South Korea.
- Travel insurance policy – Evidence of travel insurance policy with a minimum cover set by the Korean consular office provided with the Certificate of Insurance policy and the table of benefits. The travel insurance have to cover the cost of repatriation for medical reasons and the Certificate of Currency should be issued by an insurer. If you are thinking about using your credit card travel insurance for your travel to South Korea, please call Korean consular office for additional information and travel insurance requirements for the Korean visa.
- Original financial institution statements – Original financial institution statements for the last 3 months showing sufficient funds to cover your visit in South Korea. If statements are printed online after that it has to be Validated (marked) by the bank representatives.
- Hotel Reservations in South Korea – Copy of confirmed hotel bookings including name of the applicant, name and address of the hotel, time-span of stay. In the majority of circumstances, only bookings which are partly or completely pre-paid can be accepted.
- Work letter – This letter needs to be: original and signed letter from employer written on company letter head paper, verifying your ongoing employment, the status of employment, regular monthly income and annual leave. Additionally, please provide your 3 latest pay slips. If you are self-employed: offer certified copies of company registration, tax return.
- For students. Please give the following:
- Evidence of present student status: Certificate of Enrollment.
- Original and signed letter from university written on university letter head paper, confirming on-going enrolment, verifying the payment of tuition fees or any scholarships, and confirming semester break.
- Insurance policy from Organisation/University – Provide a letter from the University specifying the purpose, duration of travel and confirmation that you are going to be covered by the insurance for the entire trip along with the Certificate of Currency and summary of benefits.
Generally, visa applications for Korean visa must be sent for an optimum of 6 months, and no later than 15 days, prior to the journey.