Currently, it is the most beautiful cherry blossom viewing time of the year, which means that tourism in Korea has entered the peak season. For this reason, applying for a tourist visa has become more difficult, many travel companies even have to cancel tours because they still do not have a visa on the day of departure.
Previously, the time for the Korean Embassy's consular office to process a visa sponsored by a travel agency was 8 days. Recently, the regulation has increased to 10 to 15 days or even longer due to the overload of the Korean visa processing department.
This situation puts travel companies in a difficult situation because if not handled quickly, the damage can reach billions of dong, the worst case is being sued by customers. And more importantly, the reputation and honor of the company will also be seriously affected in the long run.
"Many customers are upset because of the disruption to their plans. Currently, we are looking for solutions such as negotiating with airlines to support costs related to the plane or finding other itineraries for tourists," said a representative of a travel agency.
Korea’s cherry blossom season and the April 30 and May 1 holidays are part of the reason for the sudden increase in demand. In addition, the city’s five-year visa policy for citizens also contributes to this situation. Many people, although not in need of traveling, still take advantage of it for fear of policy changes.
In another development, at 8am on April 9, the backyard of the Charmvit building on Tran Duy Hung Street, Hanoi - where the Consular Office of the Korean Embassy is located - had thousands of people standing guard, filling the 200m long yard. Many of them had been lining up since 2am to 3am waiting to get a number to submit their visa applications.
Image of Korean Consulate staff giving out queue numbers to people submitting applications
The number of people applying for Korean visas started to increase in March and increased dramatically in the first week of April. Many people rushed to apply for visas after hearing rumors that the policy might change again from April.
More information:
In November 2018, the Korean Ministry of Justice announced that from December 3, 2018, Vietnamese citizens with registered residence in the three cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang will be granted a 5-year visa to enter Korea. In addition to the relevant documents, visa applicants must pay a fee of 80 USD/application.
In addition, Korea also exempts financial proof for some subjects such as: government employees, those who have been to Korea more than 2 times, or financial proof through relatives... Previously, to be granted a visa, visa applicants had to have a savings book of 100 million or more or house, car papers...
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