Travel Documents: What You Need to Know
By Karina Prananto
School vacation is the busiest time of the year for travel. While most people can easily go anywhere without restrictions, some people have less opportunity to travel due to visa restrictions. For example, Indonesians, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Chinese, along with other nationalities, have less freedom to travel which can be very frustrating and even make travel to certain countries impossible. If you have to go through a visa application process, you might want to read the recommendations below:
1. Plan your trip well ahead of the time.
The longer the trip and the further the country, I suggest you to set aside more time to do research on visa application and planning for your trip. This is very important as many countries in Europe and America require a lot of paperwork for visa application.
2. Contact the embassy of your destination.
Call the embassy to confirm whether you need a visa to enter the country. If you do, ask them whether you need to make a reservation for application. Some countries in Europe or America require you to reserve an appointment and this can be fully booked in an instant. Give a minimum two months preparation time in advance before your travel date to give you more time to reserve a spot.
3. Prepare your itinerary.
All embassies will require a full and detailed itinerary as part of the visa application process. Although this might sound like a hassle, it is actually quite useful as you also need to plan where you want to go. This will make things easier later, instead of being a burden.
4. Book tickets and hotels in advance.
All embassies will require you to show bookings for the hotel and transportation (flight and sometimes land transport as well, such as Eurail ticket reservation). Many people delay until the last minute but if you do, the price will become more expensive. Try booking through http://tour.interpark.com (Korean) or www.booking.com. In my experience, both have good and prompt customer service. Make sure you check out the terms and conditions on cancellation policies. Some hotels won’t mind if you cancel the booking up-to two days before your arrival, giving you less risk in case your visa is rejected and you have to cancel your booking without paying any cancellation fees.
5. Prepare all the necessary documents.
This is where all the work begins. Below are the standard documents needed to apply for a visa:
- Passport with more than 6 months validity until the last day of your travel.
- Alien registration card also with expiry date much longer than your intended travel time.
- Proof of employment or a student card.
- Photo. Make sure the photo matches the standard regulation: white background, taken recently within 3 months. All photo studios will know when you ask them to take ‘visa application’ photos.
- Proof of financial means: e.g. bank balance within 3-6 months or your bank deposit book. The more detailed, the better the chance of successfully receiving a visa. If your travel is supported by your spouse or your parents, you need to provide their bank balances. Korean banks provide a certificate called 잔고증명서 which shows the balance of the accounts that you have. This certificate can be issued in Korean and English and sometimes in other languages.
- Family Relation or Marriage Certificate (check whether they are okay with Korean documents or if they need to be translated into English).
- Payment Slips (급여대상): 3-6 months old for those who are employed.
- Itinerary. The flight dates and hotel reservations have to match the itinerary. Don’t forget to attach proof of accommodation and flight reservation confirmation letter too.
Please refer to each country’s embassy for full details and a complete list of documents you may need and make sure you have the original ones ready with you when you go to the embassy should they ask you to show them.
6. Dress to impress.
Most embassies require you to come in person and sometimes there will be an interview. For those of us who live in Gwangju, we usually have to go to Seoul and this means extra transportation expenses. But sometimes you can have a travel agent represent you to apply for your visa for countries such as China or Japan. Ask them whether you have to come again in person to retrieve the passport or if you can have them deliver it to you. Some of the embassies also let a representative pick up the passport for you but it is strictly for the travel agency or your immediate family members (who will need to show the family a registration certificate). Dress neatly when you come to the embassy. Regard this like a formal interview where first impressions are very important.
Lastly, be prepared mentally for the worst. I believe that going through all the complicated process will make your travel more rewarding. Happy travels!