r/KoreaTravelAdvice

Please help me understand the reason, is it a mess up by visa agent ?

We had applied for VISA to Mumbai consulate, we were going as family of 4 and me & my brother had sponsored our parents for the trip.

We have constant income, had sufficient balance and on top of that, we have collective been to 9 countries in last 3 / 4 years.

Still the visa was rejected and the reason is attached, can anyone help me what could have happened ?

We had a visa agent who had applied to VFS Ahmedabad on behalf of us.

This is the same reason in all for of us - quite sad as i had planned everything.

https://preview.redd.it/xukj1f08lhkh1.png?width=632&format=png&auto=webp&s=2403f269547948116d459b5254c9db5c54ce042b

I wanted to share my Korea visa journey because I know a lot of people are currently stressing over the visa process.

Me and my friend booked our flights without doing proper research and later found out that the Korea visa process can be damn difficult. We almost gave up.

Unfortunately, my friend's visa was rejected, while mine got approved.

From my experience, documents are the key, more than just your bank balance. They seem to care a lot about whether your income and financial profile look genuine and consistent, even though it's a tourist visa.

I'll share my friend's profile first.

She is a freelancer. Since she was a freelancer, she initially didn't have a Business Registration Certificate or GST. So, we decided to apply with her father as the sponsor.

In the meantime, she managed to get her Business Registration Certificate and GST as well, around one month before our Korea travel date.

Her profile/documents were:

* Sponsored by father

* Father's documents, including bank statements

* Father's retirement letter instead of salary slips

* Her own bank statement

* Her Business Registration Certificate

* GST certificate

She was from Delhi and applied through VFS Delhi. VFS told her that the required bank balance was around ₹6 lakh.

And yes, her visa still got rejected. (We both cried alot)

Now coming to my profile, which got approved. (Sad and happy at same time, with more of anxeity now)

I am originally from MP, so my visa jurisdiction was Mumbai, although I've been living in Delhi for the past 5 years.

I couldn't apply from Delhi because VFS said that to apply from Delhi, I needed an Aadhaar address for Delhi. I don't have that because I live with relatives here. So I applied through Mumbai.

My documents were:

* Last 6 months' salary slips with wet stamp and wet signature only, no digital signature

* NOC/Employment Letter clearly mentioning that I have been working with the organisation since XX date, my designation, that my leaves have been approved and that I will resume work after returning. Again wet stamped and wet signed. On letter head of company.

* ITR for the last 3 years

* Passport original

* Aadhaar photocopy

* 2 photographs, 4.5 × 3.5 cm, white background. The photos should not have been used for another visa

* Travel history: Azerbaijan, Thailand and Bali, her was azerbaijan and thailand.

One more thing about my finances: my closing bank balance was around ₹2 lakh, and in the previous months it was generally around ₹1 lakh for every month There was no sudden large deposit made just before applying to show funds.

This is something I noticed during the process: they seem to care a lot about whether your income is genuine and your financial history is consistent, even though you're applying for a tourist visa.

So, based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend suddenly depositing a huge amount into your account just before applying. A consistent bank statement and a genuine source of income seem much more important than simply showing a high balance.

I applied on 5th August and got my visa approved on 18th August. 9 working days. Sat Sun don't count.

One thing I noticed: on 15th August, my status changed to "Under Review". If you're applying from Mumbai and seeing "Under Review", based on my experience, that's a positive sign. Mine was approved shortly after.

Now the sad part: I was supposed to travel with my best friend, but since her visa got rejected, I'm travelling solo now.

My travel dates are 3rd September to 14th September, and I'll be flying from Delhi.

If anyone else is travelling to Korea around the same dates, let me know. Would be nice to connect since this trip was originally planned with my best friend and has now turned into a solo trip.

Also, feel free to ask me anything about the visa process or documents. I'll share whatever I know from my experience.

hey everyone! im in korea from 30th september to 13th october this year and and Im so excited!!

I would love to go to Jeju for a couple of days to make a bicycle tour around the island (because i cannot rent a car and i really like biking :))

ill arrive and depart from seoul incheon airport and since i havent booked anything else yet im quite flexible.

my problem is, i dont know when its "safe" to book a flight to jeju because im scared that ill arrive during a time where its really rainy/bad weather in general or when it is really packed. i also dont know how fast the prices for hostels, flights and ferries spike/sell out.

when did you decide on the dates of traveling to jeju? was it spontaneous, or weeks/months in advance? is there any rule of thumb?

thank you

I was denied boarding yesterday because I couldn’t get the ETA in time as the webiste didn’t work for my gmail account. It states on the website that they have issues with gmail accounts, I missed flight to korea and a flight to Europe from Korea.

My question is how can a government webiste not work for so long?

People posted here about same issues months ago and it’s still an issue.

Sad country with incompetent people and we are here talking about technology and future.. dystopian failed state.

Has anyone who applied for a South Korea visa through the Chennai VFS had their application go under review? If so, how many days after the ‘under review’ status did you receive your visa?

Edit - My visa got approved on the same day.

Hi everyone!
My girlfriend and I are really excited about our South Korea trip from November 8–20. Our plan is:
Seoul: Nov 8–13
Busan: Nov 13–17
Sokcho: Nov 17–20
After Seoul and Busan, we’d like to slow things down a bit and spend our last few days in a smaller city with access to Seoraksan National Park.
I’ve heard that November can be a great time to visit Korea, but I’m a little unsure about Sokcho/Seoraksan that late in the month. How cold does it realistically get, especially for a full day of hiking? Is there usually still some fall foliage around, or will most of it be gone by then?
While we’re in Busan, we’re also planning a day trip to Gyeongju.
And one last question: has anyone taken the direct bus from Busan to Sokcho? It seems to take around 5 hours. I’d love to hear what the journey is like and whether you’d recommend it.
Thanks! :)

Hi need advice on what to wear in the last week of September in Seoul? Is it still hot around that time?

How is the weather between 15 of July and 15 august? Planning a trip next year but i don’t like to go if it rains a lots…
Thx to all!

I applied South Korea Tourist Visa on 4th August from Kolkata VFS and on 5th August got mail that it is with embassy. On the same day I checked the portal and ot showed application received. Since then it is in the same state and today is the 10th working day.

1. Can anyone please let me know if they got their visa who applied in the 1st week of August?

2. At which time during the day the portal updates?

3. Does everyone get the "under review" state or it directly jumped into Approved from Application Received state?

I have been reading a lot of suggestions for first time tourist to stay in Myeongdong. I do not want to because the amount of people. I’m looking for a hotel/ area to look for hotels within walking distance to Myeongdong so I can still experience it.

We are doing things all over the city so I know we will be taking the trains as well!

Not necessarily a quiet area, but less populated than Myeongdong.

hi everyone, has anybody applied from Delhi for ek visa? how soon you received the update on it?

im scared because im planning to travel on 21st and still haven’t received it 😭😭

Travelling in Busan for 6 days on a winter time. quite a long time to explore the city and nearby areas. any recommendations for underrated sights or adventure/ activity that we should not miss during this season?

Hello! As the title says I'm an American with an American passport but I live in Japan. I'm wanting to take a trip to South Korea but just wanna know if I need to do any immigration stuff like I had to do when coming to Japan.

When I moved to Japan, whether you're visiting temporary or moving here you have to fill out this travel form telling them where you'll be staying and for how long and prove you have a flight back to America (if you're visiting). Is there an immigration form like this for South Korea that I need to fill out online before coming? And does me currently living in Japan change anything/make me have to fill out something extra by chance?

Also, is there anything else I need to do/know about before visiting South Korea? Thank you!

I want to leave my luggage in Seoul and go to Busan/Seokcho/Pohang in the next 6 days, then go back to Seoul. There are chocolates in my luggage that I worry might melt if it's not stored in a cool place. I would be storing them there for almost a week.

Are the popular storage lockers in Seoul situated in an airconditioned place? Or do you recommend any storage places that have AC and allow long-term storage? thank you

Just wanted to make this post in case anybody finds it helpful. I applied for a tourist visa (C-3-9) and it got approved. I applied myself through the Korean Consulate in Mumbai (12th Floor, Lodha Supremus, Dr Elijah Moses Rd, Worli Naka, Upper Worli). The Consulate is open from Monday-Friday, and document submission/passport collection time is 9:30 am to 11:30 am. You may bring your phone/other belongings with you. No need to make an appointment. You can go directly, just check the consulate holidays before you go.

The first step is to fill your application form online: https://www.visa.go.kr/openPage.do?MENU_ID=1020408

Download the form and carry this along with the other documents.

Visa Fee (single entry) is Rs. 3600/- (only cash is accepted; bring exact amount)

Documents as mentioned here: https://kor.blsinternational.com/assets/pdf/Tourist-visa.pdf

A few important points to note:

1. If the photo is not as per the specified requirements, your application will not be accepted. The photo is to be pasted on your photo on the visa form.
2. Salary slips are not needed.
3. Declaration form is not needed.
4. Don't forget to sign your application form and cover letter.
5. Day-wise itinerary is also required, along with hotel and flight bookings.
6. For ITR, they ask for ITR acknowledgement, so carry that as well. If you don't have an ITR, you must submit a letter explaining why you don't have it.
7. Bank statements require original sign and stamp.
8. Employment letter must have original sign and stamp (digital signatures are not accepted - I work remotely, so I had asked my employer to send me the physical letter via post).
9. If you work remotely, it must be clearly mentioned in the employment letter. Your application will not be accepted if it is not mentioned.

The visa officer will give you a receipt with your details and passport collection date, which will be 2 weeks after your document submission. Please bring this receipt on the day of passport collection.

Once you have submitted your documents, you may track your status here: https://www.visa.go.kr/openPage.do?MENU_ID=10301

Once your status changes to "under review", it means that your visa is approved. It will change to "approved", AFTER you collect your passport.

Timeline:

Application submitted: 4th August

Status changed to application submitted: 4th August

Status changed to application received: 5th August

Status changed to under review: 14th August

Passport collected: 17th August; status immediately changed to "approved".

You will be able to download the visa online, immediately after passport collection. Note that they don't issue a sticker visa, so will need to download it from the website.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi! I wanted to ask if the visa application status updates from "application received" to "under review" does that necessarily mean that my visa got approved by the Delhi embassy of korea?

(Just like it's stated by the mumbai consulate that under review means visa approved)

Hello my name is Megan and I'm 19 visiting korea from the United kingdom. I'm going to be staying geochang for a week and quite unsure about what do there, I've seen online there's a lot of cafes and walking places but i was wondering if I could get any recommendations from locals. I was trying find some bars or anything similar but wasn't able to also is it foreigner friendly.

Thank you

Is it easy to get taxis from the station to Museum San? The shuttle bus takes about an hour so I'm guessing a taxi would be faster. And any estimate on the fare?

hii, im going to korea on wednesday and yesterday my passport got some water damage. the pages are a bit crispy and there is a slight water stain on the page above my photo and details page. i checked and there is no way to get a replacement before I leave. does anyone have any experience with this and do you think i will be able to use it?