Recently, a Korean education content company asked me to handle the invitation of a Filipino developer with a C-3-4 visa.
So, I would like to write a post about the increasingly popular C-3-4 (general business) visa that many people are interested in these days.
Since the implementation of K-ETA on April 1st and the exemption of self-quarantine for vaccinated individuals, more foreigners are visiting Korea and planning to visit than before.
Unfortunately, some Southeast Asian countries dreaming of the Korean Dream are not among the 96 countries eligible for K-ETA.
That's why many people seem to be more interested in the C-3-4 visa, commonly known as a corporate invitation visa, which is exempt from self-quarantine.
C-3-4 Visa Eligibility
- Short-term stay for market research, business contacts, consultations, contracts, small-scale trade, and other similar purposes
*Compensation within the cost of living limit is possible, but profit-seeking purposes are excluded
Duration of stay
The C-3-4 corporate invitation visa is a short-term visa for stays of 90 days or less, like other C-category visas.
Required documents
1. Visa application form, passport, photo, fee
2.Invitation letter or documents proving the purpose of entry (event, general training) *Operated according to the embassy's specific requirements in each country
The documents I listed above are the basic documents mentioned in the manual.
This does not mean all the documents that need to be submitted.
Since the required documents may differ depending on the embassy in each country, it is essential to check with the local embassy.
Also, visa issuance is at the discretion of the head of the diplomatic mission, so the embassy can request additional documents for verification if they deem necessary.
Therefore, the most crucial point is to prepare the documents thoroughly from the beginning and submit them perfectly so that the embassy cannot have any doubts.
This is because if you are denied instead of just being asked for additional documents, it will be difficult to obtain permission even if you invite someone for the same reason later.
And the key to the C-3-4 corporate invitation visa is the invitation letter.
Just like the employment letter for the E-7 visa, the C-3-4 visa issuance hinges on clarifying the reason for the invitation.
Instead of simply writing a short reason for the invitation, such as investment or education, it should be written in detail following the 5W1H principle (who, what, when, where, why, and how).
The reason for the invitation, what the invitee will do while in the country, where they will stay, and their schedule during their stay should all be included.
The person invited by the company I was working with was a Filipino.
(*Perhaps due to issues like illegal stay, the Philippines is known for having difficulty obtaining visas from embassies.)
Fortunately, by attaching additional documents related to the schedule, contracts, and other evidence proving the reason for the invitation along with the basic documents, the visa issuance was successfully granted.