By Jonathan Hicap
The Korean Embassy in the Philippines announced that it will no longer attach visa stickers on applications processed in the Philippines starting July 1.
According to the embassy, “The (Korean) immigration system does not require visa labels to be affixed to a page in an applicant's passport as the visa status will be checked and verified using the (Korean) visa information system with the recent technology.”
(Korean Embassy in the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN)
Instead, the embassy will notify applicants of their visa by issuing a “Visa Grant Notice” on the website www.visa.go.kr where they can print the document by entering their personal details such as passport number, name and date of birth. The notice is proof that a valid Korean visa has been issued to an applicant.
“The Visa Grant Notice will contain applicants' personal details including name, date of birth, and passport number, as well as visa details including visa issuance number, status of stay, period of stay, number of allowed entries, date of issue, validity of visa, and issuing authority,” the Korean embassy said.
All foreigners including Filipinos who are entering South Korea with a valid visa must present the Visa Grant Notice to Korean immigration authorities. “Despite the label-free visa policy, applicants must present and submit a passport for the purpose of document and identity verification,” according to the embassy.