Our Korean Visa in Cebu Approved — Here’s How We Did It!

In 2016, we got our Korean tourist visa from the Korean Embassy in Manila. Now that we are based in Cebu, we applied for our Korean visa at the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Cebu. Despite applying during the pandemic, we must say that the whole Korean visa application process in Cebu was smooth — from the Korean visa online appointment to the actual submission of our Korean visa requirements up to the releasing of our Korean tourist visa.

Let us walk you through the entire process in case you’ll apply for a Korean visa in Cebu like us.

Also read: Korean Visa without ITR — Here’s How I Successfully Did It!

Note: The Korean Consulate Cebu only accepts applicants from Cebu. Those from Luzon and Mindanao, may need to process their Korean visa at the Korean Embassy in Manila where you can opt to apply via one of the accredited travel agencies or schedule an online appointment yourself. You may refer to our personal guide here.

How to apply for a South Korean visa in Cebu

Step 1: Know your visa type and gather your Korean visa requirements

There are different types of Korean visas, each with different sets of visa requirements. As for us, we applied for the C-3 (Short Term Visit) Visa for Employed Individuals.

South Korea tourist visa requirements for employees:

• Application Form
• 1 piece Passport size coloured picture (to be pasted on the form)
• Original Passport (should be valid for more than 6 months)
• Photocopy of Passport Bio-page (page 2)
• Original & Photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years (If applicable, and Korean Visas will not be counted)
• Original Certificate of Employment (including applicant’s position, date hired, compensation, address, office landline number, e-mail address)
• Original Personal Bank Certificate (must include account type, current balance, account opening date, ADB)
• Bank Statement (original or certified true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last 3 months)
• Photocopy of ITR (Income Tax Return) or Form 2316 (Checked by BIR with stamp)
• Copy of PRC Card or IBP Card (If applicable only)

•If personally invited by Korean: Invitation Letter & Copy of invitor’s Passport
•If invited by Company in Korea: Invitation Letter & Copy of Korean Company Business Permit

Click here to know your Korean visa type and complete list of requirements for your category.

Step 2: Fill out the Korean visa application form

Print out the new Korean visa application form in an A4 size bond paper.

Tips in filling out your Korean visa application form:

1) Write in BLOCK LETTERS meaning ALL CAPS. Use black pen or black font color when filling out the form. Provide all the correct information and avoid erasures. If you don’t have a good handwriting, you can download the .doc format of the Korean visa application form so you can just edit and type all the information, then print.

2) Put N/A for fields that are not applicable to you.

See sample filled out Korean visa application form below:

Step 3: Schedule your Korean visa online appointment

Since 4 October 2022, the Korean Consulate in Cebu already implemented the Online Visa Appointment System. You may book your Korean visa online appointment here. Slots will be opened every Tuesday at 2pm for the following week’s schedule. You will be denied entry to the Consulate if you do not have a confirmed visa appointment. Read our Korean visa online appointment guide for the step-by-step process.

If you opt to apply via a travel agency, please skip Step 3 as they will be the one to schedule the appointment and submit your application on your behalf.

Step 4: Submit your visa requirements

Put all your documents in a secure envelope or folder to submit your requirements to your chosen travel agency or directly to the Consulate. Those who opt to DIY their applications, may proceed to the Korean Consulate in Cebu located on the 12th Floor of Chinabank Corporate Center, Lot 2, Samar Loop Cor. Road 5, Cebu Business Park, Cebu City on your scheduled online appointment date. Please bring your confirmed appointment slip and valid IDs.

South Korea visa fees 2023

• 59 days (or less) stay in Korea — GRATIS (FREE)
• 60 to 90 days stay in Korea — ₱2,000

Travel agency visa processing fees could vary. For instance, RELI Tours & Travel charges ₱1,000 to process your South Korea visa application.

Step 4: Wait for your South Korea visa

Once you submit all your requirements, the officer will give you a tentative release date written on the claim slip.

The Korean Consulate in Cebu announced that the current Korean visa processing period is 10 working days, but it could still be extended depending on the number of visa applications received per day.

Step 5: Check your Korean visa online and claim your passport

You may check your Korean visa application status online to see the status of your application. You may proceed to the Korean Consulate in Cebu to claim your passport on the tentative release date. For those, who applied via a travel agency, they will usually contact you when your passport is ready for pick up at their agency or they may ship it to you depending on your arrangement.

Based on our experience, on the 10th working day, while we were already at the Consulate to claim our passport, the online visa status changed from “Application Received” to “Under Review” to finally “Approved“. The Consulate printed a copy of our approved visa and gave it together with our passport. You may also click on the “Certificate” button on the online portal to download a soft copy of your Korean visa.

Here’s our approved Korean visa in Cebu:

If, unfortunately, you get denied, you can only re-apply after three (3) months.

That’s it! We wish you all the best in your Korean visa application.

Also read: 21 Best Pasalubong from Korea We Hunted Down on Our Trip

Disclaimer: We are not Korean visa experts. All the information provided here were based on our experience at the time of our application. There could be changes to the process after this article’s publication. We advise that you do your own research and fact-check everything from the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Cebu or the Korean Embassy in Manila.