Applying for a Japanese Tourist Visa while on a D-10 visa in South Korea

Note: Please be aware that I am holding a Philippine passport so I need to apply for a visa before visiting Japan. I am sharing this experience to hopefully help out others who are on a D-10 visa in South Korea and wants to visit Japan but would need a visa to do so. I have no idea about the process for other nationalities on a D-10 visa in South Korea that can visit Japan without needing a visa.

Sadly, the short answer to this post is that you cannot. You are not allowed to apply for a Japanese Tourist Visa while on a D-10 visa in South Korea. Unfortunately, I was not aware of this rule and only found out when I was passing my documents at the Consulate of Japan in Busan. I told the lady at the counter that I did not see any information about it and that it was not on their website. The lady at the Consulate confirmed that that information is not posted on their website. Even if my husband will be the one paying for all the expenses, it seems there is no exception. It appears that they base it on the visa status of the applicant.

However, for those who have a different visa status in South Korea but would need to apply for a visa before visiting Japan, here are the requirements from the Japanese Embassy website: (Disclaimer: I translated the information from Korean to English using Naver Translate and Google Translate so it may not be totally accurate. This is just to give you an idea.)

1. passport

2. application form (1 copy)

3. picture (1 piece) - within 6 months and pasted on the form

4. flight and/or accommodation booking confirmation/certificate

5. ability to pay for travel to Japan. One of the following:

            - income certificate from public organizations (maybe work place)

            - bank certificate/statement issued by bank or copy of passbook (for 3 months basis)

6. schedule of stay

7. copy of alien registration card (front and back)

           - include copy of accompanying family members

           - marriage certificate

Other Information:

Individual applications: 9:30-11:30 and 13:30-16:00

Issuance of visa result: Mon to Fri, 9:30-11:30 and 13:30-17:00

* For non-Koreans, a visa issuance fee (32,000 won for a single visa, 63,000 won for a multiple visa, 7,000 won for a pass visa) is required when issuing a visa.

* The application documents are not returned when applying for a visa.

The information above was collected around June-July 2017. 

Rates for sending money using Daegu Bank-Western Union Transfer Service

I usually do not send money to the Philippines from Korea but when I do, I use bank to bank services. That is, I send money through a bank here in South Korea straight to a bank account in the Philippines. To try and reduce the service charge I pay for sending money, I tried the services of Sentbe last year. However, that experience did not go so well and left me unsatisfied with their service. I am not sure if anything has changed since then. At that time, a lot of people were complaining because their money was taking longer than expected to arrive and Sentbe was not giving any updates.  

I had been considering Western Union since I have used them years ago. However, I was not able to find information online on how much their service charge is. In order to find out, I tried their services again. I went to Daegu Bank and sent money via Western Union. I got a pamphlet which shows their pricing scheme. I am sharing it here to help out others who might be thinking of sending money through them.

For additional information, the pamphlet provides the following contact numbers:

Daegu Bank Customer Service Center: 1566-5050

Western Union Customer Service Hotline: 00798-8521-3000

Extending your D-10 visa

These are the requirements for extending the D-10 visa which was provided by the Graduate School Office of the university where I graduated:

• Application Form
• Plan for Seeking Employment Form
• Alien Registration Card (ARC)
• Tuberculosis Test Results
• Evidence of what you have done for the past 6 months (interview record, business card, etc.)
• Document to verify your place of sojourn

I did not bring my passport since I have my alien registration card with me. However, the Immigration Officer asked for it. Good thing that she did not ask me to come back because I did not have my passport. Next time, it will be better to bring it.

The tuberculosis test and results can be obtained from a Korean Public Health Center. I visited the Dong-gu Public Health Center because of its proximity to the Daegu Immigration Office. When I finished the chest X-ray, I was told by the lady at the reception that I should have done it closer to where I live. I just thought that I can immediately get the results and apply for the extension at the Immigration after. It turns out, it takes a bit of time before the results come out. I did the test on a Thursday and got the results Wednesday the following week. The test costs 500 won.

As for the evidence of what I have done, I provided them with the e-mail confirmation of the companies I applied for. I saw the Immigration Officer highlighting the dates of the e-mail to make sure they were within the past 6 months.

I applied for the extension less than two weeks before the validity of my ARC ends. I noticed that the new validity date was six months from the first validity date given. The validity of my card was August 21 and when I extended it, the new validity given was February 21, 2018.

To those applying for an extension of their D-10 visa, goodluck!

Changing from D-2 to D-10 visa

After graduating from my Master’s program from a university in Daegu, I went to the Daegu Immigration Office to change my visa status from D-2 to D-10. A D-10 visa allows the bearer to stay in South Korea for 6 months to look for a job. This visa can be renewed every 6 months for up to 2 years.

Our graduate school office provided me a list of the required documents which are as follows:

• Passport
• Alien Registration Card
• Application Form
• Certificate of Graduation
• Transcript
• Plan for Seeking Employment Form
• Fee (130,000won)

Even though it was not included in the list, I also brought with me a document that shows where I live (거주/ 숙소 제공 확인서). It turned out to be a good decision as the Immigration Officer asked for it. I would suggest bringing that document as well just in case. They did not ask for any proof of financial capability (bank statements); however, you would need to state in the plan for seeking employment form your plan for living costs. I am not sure if they are asking for a certain amount but I usually just indicate where the money would be coming from.

My D-2 visa was expiring at the end of March but I decided to apply for the D-10 visa around the 3^rd week of February. I actually thought that the approval date of my new ARC would start on the day it will be released (which was 3 weeks after) but it turned out to be on the actual day I applied. So please take note that the counting for the 6 months of your stay will be based on the day you applied for the D-10 visa. For example, I applied for the D-10 visa on February 21 and got a validity of August 21.

I just recently renewed my D-10 visa and will post about that in the next few days. I hope this post will be of help to those who are changing their visas from D-2 to D-10.

Finally!

I have been debating for quite some time now whether to start a blog or not. When I finally decided to open one, I got stuck on thinking what I would name it. I eventually decided on a name as this blog is now online. My purpose here is to share information on the things I have experienced that may hopefully be of help to other people who are living in South Korea. It is a bit vague now but with more posts, I hope I will be able to accomplish my purpose.