Annhyeonghaseyo! Planning to Travel to South Korea? I have written below a step by step guide on applying for a South Korea tourist visa here in Qatar.

Step 1

Check the website of the Embassy of the Republic of South Korea on this link to know the requirements based on your nationality. When we applied, there was a new directive wherein the below 34 nationalities should prove that they have lived in Qatar for more than 2 years before they can apply for a South Korea tourist visa here in Qatar.

Related: 10 Awesome Things to do in Seoul, South Korea

Step 2

Gather all the tourist visa requirements based on your Nationality. I applied my visa together with my family, and since we are all Filipinos, the following are the documents that we have prepared for our visa application.

1. Accomplished visa application form – you can download the form on this link. Make sure that you have answered everything on the form and if there are any questions not applicable to you, just put N/A or not applicable.

2. Copy of Residency Permit or your Qatar ID – it should be valid for more than 3 months and both the front and back side of the ID should be printed in one page

3. Passport  and copy of passport – your passport should be valid for more than 6 months

4. Documents to prove your stay in Qatar for 2 years: Choose one on the following options (either 4-1 or 4-2):

            4-1. Two documents
          –  Employment Certificate issued by your current company which mentions your position and salary (Notarization from MOFA is not needed)
          – Certificate which mentions your Residency Permit details, this includes first entry (issuance date) and the expiry date. You can get this through the online Metrash application under ‘To Whom It May Concern’ button. Pay the specified amount (QAR 10 when we applied) using your debit/credit card, provide your email address and the certificate will be emailed to you within minutes. See screenshot of the Metrash application below:

On your Metrash phone application, after logging in, choose the Residency button, then Certificates and then click on “To whom it May Concern.”  

            4-2. One document
          – Employment certificate which specifies your official duty starting date and salary. This must be notarized by the Consular Department of Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs with one month validity

5. A copy of your Employer’s establishment card (Front and back side printed in one page) and commercial registration (CR)

6. 3 months original bank statement – stamped by your bank and shows your monthly salary. I am not sure if they are particular with the balance on your account but to be on the safe side, you need to have savings that can cover your intended trip to Korea.  

7. Round-trip air-ticket – in our case, we stayed in the Philippines for a few days before going to South Korea. We submitted a copy of our air tickets from Qatar to Philippines via Philippine Airlines and our Philippines to South Korea air tickets via Cebu Pacific.

8. Hotel reservation – in our case, we booked our hotel at booking.com. We chose a hotel which does not require a payment upon booking and can be cancelled anytime before our scheduled trip.

9. One (1) White background passport size picture – taken within 6 months and this will be attached to the application form.

Notes:

• If your Nationality is not listed on the 34 Nationalities above, you will still submit the same documents except for No. 4 since they only require an employment certificate stating your position and salary.
• For family applicants:
  – If one of the parents is a dependent, you would need to submit a copy of your Marriage Certificate. If you will also apply a visa for your children, a copy of their birth certificates should also be submitted. These certificates must be notarized by the Consular Department of Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) with 3 months validity. For Filipinos, make sure that your Marriage or Birth Certificate is authenticated (red ribbon) by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Philippines, before you have it notarized by MOFA.
  – Each member of the family must accomplish an application form.

Step 3

Once you have all the documents required, proceed to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. You don’t need to schedule an appointment to the Embassy, you can go there to submit the requirements during their office hours (7:30 AM to 12 PM then 1:00 to 3:00 PM). Personal appearance is also required when applying for a visa.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea is now located at the New Diplomatic Zone. It is a compound that also houses other embassies. Cars are not allowed to enter at the compound, so you need to park it on the allotted parking areas outside. Once inside, you will first go through security checks and then you have to present your Qatar ID. Afterwards, you will ride a bus (free of charge) that will take you to the Embassy or Office where you will be going. During our visit, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea was the first stop.

Upon arrival to the Embassy, submit the requirements to the employee in charge. They will check all the documents first to know if everything is complete. Afterwards, they will hand you a receipt  that shows how you can check the status of your visa application, as well as the amount of visa fee that you will pay. The visa application fee varies per nationality, but good news for Filipinos, since our visa fee going to South Korea is free or gratis.

Once done, you will have to wait for a bus just outside the Embassy, that would bring you to the exit of the compound.

Related: What to Buy at Korea’s Lotte Mart?

Step 4

Check the status of your visa on this link. In our case, we waited for 7 working days before we were able to know the status of our application.

On the Check Application Status, choose Diplomatic Office and then input your passport number, name (as shown on your passport) and birthday.

Step 5

Once approved, go to the Embassy to claim your passport during their office hours. Make sure to check that all the details on your visa are correct before leaving.

Here’s my 30 day single entry South Korea tourist visa.

There you go, I hope this detailed step by step procedure on applying for a South Korea tourist visa will help you in getting approved. If you have any questions, you may shoot me a message below, but please don’t ask me regarding the show money, because to be honest, I really don’t know how much money you need to have on your bank account in order to be approved, plus there’s really no hard rule regarding this. All I could say to you is have enough savings on your account that you think can cover your stay in Korea. You can also call the Embassy if you have queries, they are really helpful and accommodating in answering when I tried to call them.

South Korea Embassy Information
Address: Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the State of QatarAddress : P.O.BOX 3727, New Diplomatic Area, Onaiza-66, Al Shabab St., Doha, Qatar
Phone: +974-4483-2238 to 9
Office Hours: 7:30~12:00 , 13:00~15:30

[mailerlite_form form_id=2]