I am so excited to announce that I just found out my visa to study abroad has been approved. The application process was a pain in the butt, so as promised in my last post I decided to provide a step by step of how to get it done. Also I want to preface by saying that this is what worked for me, in my particular situation. I direct enrolled at Ewha as a visiting student. My school has no formal exchange agreement with Ewha so I will be paying Ewha’s tuition and when transcripts are released it will be sent to my home address. (If anyone is interested in how I applied to Ewha directly please let me know by commenting and I would be glad to make a post on that as well:)
Step 1- Finding the visa application
http://usa-houston.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa-houston/visa/issuance/index.jsp
This is for the consulate in Houston. I am sure the requirements are the same for any that you apply to, and the application is definitely the same, just make sure you send it to the correct consulate for your area!
I could probably end this post here because everything you need to know is at this link: The application, required documents, fee amount. But there are a few things that should be mentioned.
-The application is a general application, so people who are applying for a work visa, student visa, general trainee, entertainment, etc.. all of them use this application. This is what it looks like:
-There is no amount listed here that is needed for the bank account statement. As a general rule I believe the semester amount is $5,000 and the year is $10,000. I had $10,000 in mine.
-Not all of the documents listed are exactly required. For my application I sent in:
- passport
- flight itinerary
- passport photo
- application and fee
- prepaid self addressed envelope
- original certificate of admission (sent via mail by host school)
- business registration(sent via mail by host school)
- official transcript
- bank statement balance
There were two documents listed that I did not need, however that does not mean that they aren’t required. They just were not required for my particular circumstance.
Step 2- Gather your documents
It seemed strange to me but most of the things I sent in did not seem very “official” aside from my Business Registration form. I was expecting my bank balance to need to be on a fancy piece of paper, stamped by the president of the bank, notarized, etc. But nope, I just had to go to the teller and ask for a printout of my bank statement ( I asked her to stamp it and sign it just for safe measures, but honestly I doubt that was necessary) The bank statement was definitely the hardest part of this for me. After you get that, everything else just kind of comes to you.
Step 3- Send it off!
So once you have all your documents together you need to get it to the consulate that covers your area. Find out which one that is, get the address, and head to the post office. You will need to buy an envelope that will hold all of your papers plus another prepaid envelope for them to send your passport back in. Place all papers, passport, $45 fee, and self addressed envelope into the consulate addressed envelope, seal it up, and send it. I would recommend paying the extra dollar or whatever fee it is in your area for the insurance on your parcel. You are putting in an extremely important document(passport) and money. It will be worth it if something happens trust me.
Step 4- Check status and wait for approval
I was completely unaware of this until today, but there is a way to check the status of your visa online before it is sent back to you. Visit http://www.visa.go.kr and on the top of the page there will be a button that says ENGLISH. Click on it and it will translate the site for you. Next click on the tab at the side that says Check Application Status and under that Check Application Status and Print. It will take you to a page where you enter your Passport #, name and birthdate. It should show you under the search results your application. Remember to put in your name exactly as it says on your passport. I didn’t realize that it wanted my last name, first, then middle.
And that is how to apply for a visa to study in South Korea. If I missed something or if you have a question about a step, please comment and let me know and I would be glad to help! I hope this post can help at least one person who may be having some visa application anxiety and good luck to everyone applying!
fromcancertokorea 