Filipinos who plan to participate in a tour that is organized by their school or company may submit a Korean group visa application. Requirements to submit and travel agencies to contact are provided below.
Highlights
- The Embassy of Korea in the Philippines accepts group visa applications (e-Group visa) from Filipinos who will join a company incentive tour or an educational tour.
- Participants must share the same flight when entering and exiting Korea.
- Qualified applicants must contact a travel agency that is designated to process Korean group visa applications, such as Ark Travel Express, International Journeys, and Hanatour Manila, among others.
- Families or friends who want to travel to Korea together do not qualify to apply for the Group visa. The batch application is for those whose trip is sponsored and organized by their school or company.
- In any case, if you are already planning your Korea itinerary, make sure to check out this fun Seoul Cooking Class & Food Tour from WAUG!
Explore more: How to Apply for a South Korea Visa: Requirements & Process in the Philippines
UPDATE: June 13, 2020
Who can I apply for a Korean visa? To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines currently only accepts applications for long-term visas. Tourist visa processing (C-3) is still on hold pending the easing of travel restrictions in the Philippines.
What are the enhanced visa criteria? Those who are eligible to apply for a Korean visa must comply to these requirements and mandatory quarantine. Moreover, successful applicants will no longer be issued a visa sticker in their passport beginning July 1. Upon arrival in South Korea, they must present a printed copy of their visa grant notice instead.
What if I have a valid Korean visa? Single-entry Korean visas that were issued on or before April 5, 2020 are no longer valid. You will need to apply for a new one. However, if you have a valid short-term multiple-entry Korean visa (5 years), you do not have to reapply. Conditions permitting, it can still be used in the future. For reference, you can read the Embassy’s detailed explanation here.
South Korea Group Visa Application
The Embassy of Korea in the Philippines accepts group visa applications from individuals who will join a company incentive tour or an educational tour provided that they meet the following criteria:
- Their group must be composed of at least five (5) members.
- They must share the same flight or vessel when entering and exiting South Korea.
- Everyone must follow the group tour schedule.
- For students, they must be in grade school, high school, or college (primary, secondary, and tertiary).
While tour participants may still undergo the regular application (individual), applying for a group visa is more ideal because it requires fewer documents from each applicant, as you’ll see below.
South Korea Group Visa Requirements
Here are the requirements that Korean group visa applicants must prepare:
Korean Group Visa Requirements for Employees (Company Incentive Tour Participants)
- Application Form for Korea Group Visa
- Original Passports of all participants
- Visa Request Letter from the Company
- Business Permit of the Company
- Business Permit of the Travel Agency in Korea
Korean Group Visa Requirements for Students (Educational Tour Participants)
- Application Form for Korea Group Visa
- Original Passports of all participants
- Visa Request Letter from the School or University
- Business Permit of the Travel Agency in Korea
Application Form for Korea Group Visa
The Korea group visa application form requires the basic information of your group members and the assigned representative. It also needs the tour group’s itinerary and the details of the travel agency in Korea that organized the tour. You can use this link from International Journeys’ website to download the application form.
Original Passports of all participants
As a general rule, visa applicants must submit a passport that is valid for at least 6 months from the intended date of departure. For example, if your company or school scheduled the Korea group tour on July 15, 2020, the applicant’s passport must be valid for at least until January 15, 2021.
Visa Request Letter from the Company or School
The Visa Request Letter is an important Korean group visa requirement. Make sure to submit one that has the following:
- Letterhead of the company or school
- Contact number and address of the company or school
- Assigned group representative/s (Select 1 for every 20 participants)
- Participants’ information
- For employees: name, position, and hiring date
- For students, name and current level/degree
- Purpose of entry
- Itinerary
- Funding details, i.e. who will cover the group’s travel expenses
Business Permit of the Company
Get a copy of your company’s local business permit, i.e. Mayor’s Permit
Travel Agencies That Process Korea Group Visa Applications
Once the requirements are complete, contact any of the following accredited travel agencies to process your Korean group visa application:
Ark Travel Express Inc.
- Address: 146 Alfaro Place, L.P Leviste St. Salcedo Village, Makati City
- Contact number: 02-8813-5943
- Established in 1996
Grand Hope Travel and Tours
- Address: Lower Ground Level, SM City – NRA, Cebu City
- Contact number: 032-234-0764
Hanatour Manila Inc.
- Address: 2/F Damon Bldg., Macapagal Avenue, 1011 Pasay, Metro Manila
- Contact number: 02-8403-3993
Horizon Travel and Tours, Inc.
- Address: 490 Potenciana Mansion Sta Monica St., Ermita Manila
- Contact number: 02-5328-3388 or 02-8521-2586
International Journeys Inc.
- Address: Unit 2 Third Floor Altra Center 1663 Jorge Bocobo Street Malate, Manila
- Contact number: 02-8400-0550
Korean group visa applicants who will submit their requirements to International Journeys Inc. may do so in person or via courier.
JOINENJOY (Island Resort Club Tour Services, Inc.)
- Address: Unit 109-P, G/F Five Ecom Center, Pacific Drive, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City
- Contact number: 02-8708-9999
- Established in 2002
Marsman Drsydale Travel Inc.
- Address: 19th Floor Robinsons Summit Center Ayala Avenue, Makati City
- Contact number: 02-8887-0000
- Established in 1979
Pan Pacific Travel Corporation
- Address: 353 E.T. Yuchengco Street, Binondo, Manila
- Contact number: 02-8243-6666
- Established in 1978
Rajah Travel Corporation
- Address: 3/F 331 Building, 331 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City
- Contact number: 02-8894-0886
Rakso Air Travel and Tours Inc.
- Address: 3F Rico Bldg. #112, Aguirre St., Legaspi Village, Makati City
- Contact number: 02-8651-9000
Korean Group Visa Processing Time
For Korean group visa applicants, the processing time is less than a week or around three (3) days.
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Additional Notes for Korean Group Visa Applicants
International Journeys Inc., a travel agency that’s designated to process Korean group visa applications, provides the following information regarding the assigned representative:
- Assign one representative for every 20 tour participants.
- The group representative/s must be between 20-60 years old.
- The representative will be given the group visa that he or she needs to present to Immigration.
- The representative has the task of overseeing the group and reporting unusual events, e.g. disappearance of a group member.
Sir, I like to attend conference in Korea but they r not like to give us invitation. We r 8 members. Plz show us the Way. Tq
what happens if on the day of the flight the group visa leader could not come? will everyone be
denied entry?
same question here.. will everyone be denied if the group visa representative or leader wont be able to come?