Freelancers like me dread applying for visa. We often think that we won’t get approved because we can’t provide some requirements like ITR, Company ID, and Certificate of Employment. I tried my luck and wrote a letter to the Korean Embassy explaining why I can’t provide the requirements.
Here’s a sample letter for Korean Embassy:
Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines
122 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1630
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Karla _____ and I am requesting a tourist visa to South Korea. I plan to travel to South Korea this July 2019. I lived in Seoul for two years as a missionary. To be specific, I was a part of the English Ministry of _____. I taught the church members on how to speak English. This time, I plan to go back to South Korea as a tourist. I want to visit and promote some tourist destinations and Korean drama filming locations.
Part of the tourist visa application is to show an Income Tax Return (ITR), which unfortunately I do not possess. Hence, I am writing this letter. The reason I do not have an ITR is because I am a freelance travel blogger (www.travelwithkarla.com) and an English Proficiency Guide at _______. I travel to different places and write about them. Moreover, I also conduct online lectures on how to pass the IELTS and TOEFL exams.
I can give you an assurance that my finances right now are enough to cover my 5 days trip in South Korea. I was able to prepare an enough amount for my 5 days trip. Please see my bank certificate for reference. I am very positive that this amount is good enough for my trip.
In addition, I also attached an invitation letter from _____, the Director of Korean Cultural Center & Counsellor for Culture and Public Relations of the Korean Embassy. I was invited to be a part of the Honorary Reporters of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. I believe that this trip will really help me in raising awareness of Korea in the Philippines. My 100,000 followers across social media accounts are excited to follow my adventures in Korea. I’m going to make a lot of travel guides after this trip.
I am really hoping that you would grant my request for a tourist visa. Hoping for your kind consideration.
Sincerely,
Karla __________
Applicant
Here’s a sample letter for Japanese Embassy:
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines
2627 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, 1300
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Raymond _______ and I am requesting a tourist visa to Japan. I plan to travel to Osaka this May 2019. I am seriously excited to see the beautiful sights of the city and move my childhood dream into reality. I was exposed to different anime all created in Japan since I was a kid. This exposure to anime is pushing me to visit your wonderful country.
Part of the tourist visa application is to show an Income Tax Return (ITR), which unfortunately I do not possess. Hence, I am writing this letter. The reason I do not have an ITR is because I am a freelance Physical Therapist and a board review Educator. I conduct lectures in review centers for local and US PT board examinations. I also treat patients with disability at their own houses.
I can give you an assurance that my finances right now are enough to cover my 5 days trip in Osaka. I was able to prepare an enough amount for my 5 days trip. Please see my bank certificate for reference. I am very positive that this amount is good enough for my trip.
I have traveled to the United States of America twice already as a tourist visa holder. My first one was last January 2017 in Hawaii and the second one was just last January 2019 in Philadelphia, PA. Please check my passport for reference. It has been my life goal to visit different countries and that includes the wonderful Japan.
I am really hoping that you would grant my request for a tourist visa. Hoping for your kind consideration.
Sincerely,
Raymond ______
Applicant
I and my friend Raymond got our visas approved using the letter above. I hope you can also get yours approved using those guide. If you have any questions, leave a comment below.
I’m curious if multiple visa can be granted if unable to provide ITR and give a letter of explanation… would you know? ? I applied for my 2nd Japan visa last year but around that time I was working remotely already so I asked for sponsorship from my sister. I was not given multiple visa (despite being approved prior with a japan visa) ?
YAY! This would be helpful for me for my application after lockdown. Badly want to travel to Korea for a long time now. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS *fingers crossed
this is a good share. Currently, we have an increasing freelancers and digital nomads, and having an ITR is not priority, however, is noteworthy on the letter. I am sure that this article would have helped lots of pinoy travellers to experience South Korea and Japan.
This is so helpful since I also dont have ITR. Papano pag dependent ka ng parent? Pero me ipon ka din as freelancer?
Thanks for sharing your reassuring tips for those who might be worrying about securing a SoKor visa. It would be a shame if they didn’t try simply because they thought they didn’t have the proper docs.
This is great, Karla! Perfect for freelancers and those who works online.
Thank you this is very helpful to use as a guide in makinh our own letters. There are a lot of requirement when applying for visas and sometimes they’re just impossible to get. This means, there’s still a chance tho!!
Thanks for sharing this letter (ma copy nga hehe)
I remember ung nag tourist visa din ako sa singapore though complete requirements naman ako pero grabe yung embassy natin talagang last 10 seconds bago kami pinalabas sa embassy office.
this post is helpful for all the freelancers. congrats on the visa and enjoy your SK trip this July! lapit na!
Thank you for this. Will keep this in mind when we decide to travel to South Korea.
Great help for all the freelancers out there who really wants to travel. You provided pa sample letters. Nice!
So generous of you to share these sample letters! These are such a great aid and guide.
Wow.. Pwede pala to.. Thanks for sharing this.. Sobrang informative and helpful nito..
Wow! What a relief! I am really worried about my upcoming visa application and I have been thinking about it for 6 months now! I am really problematic if I will be approved or not. But with your blog, I am positive that I have a chance to be approved. Me and my boyfriend are planning to visit Korea together this September. I have been to Korea last year as a tourist too but I was employed during that time. And we also purchased the ticket when we are still employed. We did not expect that there’s some issue on our company before and we decided to resign and be an online freelancer. So imagine the pain of thinking that we will be denied? Haha but thanks to you Ms. Karla! Can I ask you something? What did you put on your visa application form? Did you choose “others” then wrote freelancer? What about the contact details of the company? My online client can’t give me a contact details because we only communicate via email. I am looking forward for your answer! You are a big help Ms. Karla! Godbless.
Yup, checked “others”, then I wrote freelancer. For contact number, I just used mine. Good luck on your application. 🙂
Thank you so much Ms. Karla. One last question, my client is based in UK. Shall I put the company name and the UK address too? But I will put my contact number instead, do you think that will be a problem? What did you put on your application Ms. Karla on the co. name and address? I’m sorry, I have a lot of questions.haha. Thank you so much for your reply!
This will be a great help to get every applicant’s visa approved. I can refer to this if I wish to travel to SoKor someday.
Hi Ms. Karla! Did you attached proof of income when tou applied? I am an online freelancer too and I will apply a tourist visa next month. Thanks!
Hi Mindy, I just submitted my bank statement and bank certificate.