Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Toronto

NOTICE ABOUT COVID-19

At this time, the Consulate remains open for essential and emergency services via appointments. If the nature of your visit to the Consulate is not both essential & urgent, please postpone your visit.

As we respond to the evolving nature of COVID-19 in Toronto, Consulate may close or otherwise change how we operate. If an appointment you already made needs to be cancelled or postponed, you will be contacted directly by a member of the staff through the email you provided on our online booking site. Please also monitor our website for latest information. Information is frequently being updated on our website.

The Consulate’s website is updated so that those who need consular services could better understand the process and document requirements for each consular service. 

As we do not have a telephone inquiry line nor a customer service centre, all information is provided on our website and not by phone or by email. We are updating our website so that all frequently asked enquiries are covered on our website. 

* Please note that as per the latest Ministry of Justice Korean Immigration Services policies, we are currently NOT receiving nor approving visa applications for the purpose of tourism, medical tourism (i.e. travelling to Korea for a medical procedure including plastic surgery and other elective surgeries), working holiday (H-1), and job searching visas including D-10. Once that changes, our website will be updated to reflect the change.

QUARANTINE EXEMPTION ENQUIRIES

If it has been 15 or more days since your 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccine and your purpose of visit to Korea is to visit your parent(s), your spouse, your spouse's parent(s), or child residing in Korea, you may be eligible for quarantine exemption starting July 2. Please visit this page (click) and follow the instructions below with a Korean-speaking family member. Information will be updated in English soon as well.

THOSE WHO CAN STILL ENTER KOREA WITHOUT A VISA

Citizens of the following 21 countries can still enter Korea without a visa as the visa-free entry agreements between Korea and the following countries are still valid:

Albania, Andorra, Barbados, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Commonwealth of Dominica, Guam, Guyana, Holy See (Vatican City State), Ireland, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Slovenia, United Kingdom, United States of America

If you are a citizen of the 21 countries above, you just need to apply for a K-ETA (click for details) and follow the latest COVID-19 guidelines (i.e. getting a negative COVID-19 test) in order to travel to Korea.

If you are not a citizen of the above 21 countries, you need a visa to enter Korea. Please read the step-by-step guide below.

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:

1. Do you already have a valid, not-expired F-4 visa?

If so, you do not need an additional visa to enter Korea. For detailed information in Korean click here.

If you have additional information about your F-4 visa or the card type F-4 visa (Overseas Korean Registration Card) issued by Korean Immigration Service in Korea, please contact them directly for any questions.

Website: www.immigration.go.kr | Phone: 011-82-1345

2. Do you already have a visa to Korea and have a re-entry permit or a re-entry permit exemption but cannot enter Korea within the validity period due to COVID-19?

If your validity period is not yet expired you may be eligible to apply for an extension instead of applying for a new visa. The earliest you can apply is approximately 1 month to the expiry date. Please click to read the detailed information below:

Application for Extension of "Re-entry Permit" or "Re-entry Permit Exemption" (Click to be directed to the detailed information)

3. Read ALL the * MUST READ * guides on “Guideline & FAQs”. You can search by * MUST READ *. 

Important Note: Please note that as the Korean government has temporarily suspended visa-free entry from most countries during COVID-19, not all visas are currently available. For instance no tourism visas are currently being granted but all other complete visa applications that may be deemed essential (i.e. if you qualify for Korean heritage visa, work permit, study permit, business trip, attending family funeral, etc.) will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please read the * MUST READ * Important changes to visiting Korea during COVID-19.

* If you are NOT Canadian, you are still eligible to apply through our office if you are a resident of Ontario (except Ottawa) or Manitoba AND submit the original and photocopy of your long term visa in Canada (i.e. permanent residence, work permit, study permit) as part of your visa application. If you are not a resident of our jurisdiction or if you are just a short term visitor to Canada, pleast contact and apply through the embassy or consulate in the country of your nationality.

4. Don't know what visa to apply for? Ask the inviting organization (i.e. your school or employer). If they do not know, you may visit Korea Visa Portal and use Visa Navigator to find out which visa you need to apply for. If you already know, you can skip this step and go to Step 5.

Example:

Continent: Americas

Country/Region: Canada

Purpose of Entry: ___________

Length of Stay: ____________

If you cannot find the purpose of your trip and your visa type through the Visa Navigator on Korea Visa Portal, please contact Immigration Contact Center for guidance : 011-82-1345.

Important note: Use the Korea Visa Portal as a reference for what visa you need to apply for. The forms on the Portal or given to you by your employer/recruiter may be outdated. Please only download and use the forms directly from the official website of Consulate General of the Republic of Korea.

5. There are hundreds of different types of visa. Our Guideline & FAQs highlights all the visas for which we receive frequent enquiries or we have a high volume of applicants. All highlighted visas are considered essential and we accept applications to all highlighted visas.

To see all VISA guidelines, you can search "VISA GUIDELINE" in Guideline & FAQs for a complete list of visas we highlight. You can also search by type of visa or code (i.e. C-3-1, C-3-4, D-2-3, D-4-1, E-2-1, etc.) and prepare all documents in the guideline. 

Complete list of highlighted visas on our website (Guideline & FAQs) with click-through links are also provided here in alphabetical order for your convenience:

A-2-4 Foreign Government Official Short Term Essential Visit

C-3-1 Short Term Family Visit (please click to read detailed information on who qualifies)

C-3-1 Other Short Term Essential/Emergency Visit (please click to read detailed information on who qualifies)

C-3-4 Business Visitor (going to Korea on a business trip with expenses paid by your Canadian or another non-Korean employer)

C-4-5 Short term (90 days or less) work visa (professional entertainer/celebrity, model or visiting Korea to participate in a sports competition or if you are an artist being invited to exhibit your art for sale) * in Korean only

-> Please make sure that you receive all the requirements from your sponsor and follow the instructions on this step-by-step guide. You can also reference the information provided in English on C-4-5 visa on Korea Visa Portal but that is not the complete list of requirements.

C-4-5 Short term (90 days or less) work visa (working in certain technology fields, contractor dispatched to Korea to fulfill a services contract, short term lecturer, or English camp instructor) * in Korean only

-> Please make sure that you receive all the requirements from your sponsor and follow the instructions on this step-by-step guide. You can also reference the information provided in English on C-4-5 visa on Korea Visa Portal but that is not the complete list of requirements.

D-2-1 Associate Degree, D-2-2 Bachelor's Degree, D-2-3 Master's Degree, or D-2-4 Doctoral Degree in Korea

D-2-8 Short term study in Korea (up to 1 year)

D-4-1 Korean Language Trainee

E-2-1 Foreign Language Instructor

E-2-2 English Teaching Assistant (EPIK & TaLK)

E-7 Professionals & Semi-professionals

F-2-3 Spouse or minor child of permanent resident (F-5) * in Korean only

F-3 Dependent Family (spouse or unmarried minor child) of Long Term Work Permit Holder

F-4-11 Korean heritage visa (if you once had Korean citizenship yourself) * in Korean only

F-4-11 Korean heritage visa (for male applicant under 41 years) * in Korean only

F-4-12 Korean heritage visa (if your parent(s) used to be Korean but obtained Canadian citizenship before you were born) * in Korean only

F-6-1 Spouse of a Korean national marriage migrant visa (regular application) * in Korean only

F-6-1 Spouse of a Korean national marriage migrant visa (renewal application only for those whose visa expired due to COVID-19) * in Korean only

Important note: If your visa is highlighted on our website, you must prepare your application from the guideline on our website. If one or more documents are missing, your application will NOT be accepted.

Even if you have a visa issuance number or eligibility certificate, it does not mean we can just "stamp your passport within a day". Visa issuance number or eligibility certificate means you've submitted some of the applications directly to the Immigration Service in Korea but you still need to APPLY FOR A VISA  through the Consulate and you must follow this step-by-step guide.

6. If your visa is not highlighted on our English website, please see below for specific cases:

Some visa guidelines are only provided on the Korean site because the visa itself has a Korean language requirement, the visa is sponsored by a Korean spouse, or the visa is sponsored by Korean employer and an extensive list of documents are required in Korean.

For ALL OTHER visas, please visit Korea Visa Portal to find your list of documents AND also prepare the additional mandatory requirements during COVID-19. As the application form on Korea Visa Portal may not be the most recent one, please download from THIS PAGE directly.

If you cannot find the requirements of your visa on Korea Visa Portal, please contact Immigration Contact Center : 011-82-1345.

* Please note that as per the latest Ministry of Justice Korean Immigration Services policies, we are currently NOT receiving nor approving visa applications for the purpose of tourism, medical tourism (i.e. travelling to Korea for a medical procedure including plastic surgery and other elective surgeries), working holiday (H-1), and job searching visas including D-10. Once that changes, our website will be updated to reflect the change.

Which form you should use depending on whether you have a Visa Eligibility Certificate or not.

Do you have a Visa Eligibility Certificate (i.e. provided to you by the inviting organization or from your recruiter)? If you don't know what it means at all, you most likely don't have one.

NO - Visa Application

YES - Visa Application for those with Visa Eligibility Certificate & Additional Contact Information

Please note the application forms are just 1 of many visa application requirements even for those with eligibility certificate. For the complete list of requirements, please see individual visa guidelines.

7. Make an appointment online http://www.torbooking.com/en (click) to apply for visa.

1 appointment per each applicant, even if they are minors. i.e. 2 people = 2 appointments.

It means all available slots are booked by other applicants if the booking site shows the message "No available times. We're either fully booked or are not accepting online bookings for this service." Please check back frequently to see if there are any cancellations and monitor when new slots are automatically released by the system. Do not call or email the Consulate as we cannot manually book your appointments.

If you reside 2 or more hours away from the Consulate, you are eligible to apply for the visa by mail (with the exception of F-6-1 applications, which must be by in-person visit). Please click to see the detailed mail-in guidelines.

!!! Check your passport's validity !!!

Your passport must have a minimum validity of 6 months or more at the time of any visa application, regardless of your intended length of stay. Passports with validity of less than 6 months will automatically be rejected by the system. As well, as of July 1, 2021, the maximum period of stay you can receive will be up to the validity of your passport.

If your passport is expiring soon, please first renew your passport before proceeding with your visa application. We actually recommend that your passport is valid for at least the duration of the maximum period of your visa plus 1 month (i.e. 14 months for E-2 visa, 2 years and 1 month for F-4 visa).

8. Once and only once you receive email confirmation of your visa appointment, prepare the additional requirements during COVID-19 and double check that you have prepared everything required in your visa guidelines.

NOTE: As of January 8, 2021, we have temporarily stopped requiring a negative PCR test at the time of your visa application since you have to submit the test results at the time you board your flight. The other two requirements are still required. Once this is required again, it will be updated on the link below.

NOTE 2: As of April 19, 2021, we are no longer requiring the Health Condition Report Form. You no longer have to submit this as part of your visa application. However, you still need to submit the Consent to Quarantine.

For details, refer to the article: * MUST READ * Additional mandatory requirements during COVID-19 for ALL visas. Make an appointment to see your doctor or make an appointment to visit a testing centre.

Ensure your visit to the doctor’s office or COVID-19 TEST CENTRE is not more than 48 hours from the date and time of your visa application appointment (if you are sending it in by mail, you have approx. a week from receiving the call to be tested and submit your test results by email). The results need to be ready and printed for submission by your visa appointment time.

9. Regardless of visa type you are applying to, if you are of Korean heritage (ethnically Korean), you need additional documents to prove that you have renounced your Korean citizenship or that you did not have Korean citizenship to begin with (i.e. your parents were both Canadian at the time of your birth).

First read carefully this step-by-step guide in Korean (click) with a Korean parent to determine your eligibility for visa application. If you find out you are eligible to apply for a Korean visa, you may proceed and follow the detailed instructions in Korean below with a Korean parent to prepare the additional requirements if you are of Korean heritage/Korean-descent(click).

10. Processing time & passport information

If you have multiple nationalities, please choose which passport to receive the visa on. You just need to submit 1 physical passport but need to provide photocopies of each of your passports.

You will be advised of the approximate time you can expect your visa to be issued by and how you can print your own visa at home. Your passport will not have a sticker or stamp visa (this is as of July 1, 2020). 

UPDATE: If your application date is April 29, 2021 or later, your original passport will be returned to you after your passport has been entered into our system. (Please note that we may request additional photocopies of pages in your passport.) This means you do not need to come back to pick up your passport.

Current processing time is from the date of submission of ALL requirements and depends on the type of visa you are applying to:

SHORT TERM EMERGENCY VISA (TO ATTEND IMMEDIATE FAMILY'S FUNERAL): APPROX. 2 BUSINESS DAYS (as long as you submit all the requirements, we will try our best for you to make your flight and for you to make it to at least a part of the funeral)

SHORT TERM EMERGENCY VISA (TO VISIT A CRITICALLY ILL IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER: APPROX. 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS (as long as you submit all the requiremetns, we wil try our best to expedite your application)

SHORT TERM VISAS (90 days or less) OTHER THAN EMERGENCY VISAS:

(i.e. C-3-1 Other (Non-Emergency) Short Term Essential, C-3-4 Business Visitor, C-4-5 Short Term Work, D-2-8 Short Term Study in Korea 90 days or less, F-6-1): 12-15 BUSINESS DAYS

* IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A PRE-APPROVAL FROM THE RESPECTIVE MINISTRY IN KOREA FOR QUARANTINE EXEMPTION, WE MAY BE ABLE TO EXPEDITE ON A CASE BY CASE SENARIO. Please mention at the time of application.

LONG TERM (91 days or longer) VISAS (i.e. D-2-1~4, D-2-8 if admission is for 91 days or longer, D-4-1, E-2-1, E-2-2, E-7, F-1-9, F-3, F-4-11, F-4-12): 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS

Please note that processing time updates are in effect as of April 19, 2021. We are no longer able to expedite visa processing times for family members of Korean citizens, but processing time for long term visa applications have all been reduced from 12-15 business days to 7-10 business days.

11. Visit the Consulate during your appointment time.

We allow entry approximately 10 min prior to your appointment time. If you arrive earlier than that, please wait outside before entering. Please plan to arrive 10 min early to take your passport and application out of any folders and binders and to organize your application in the order listed on our website and/or on the Korea Visa Portal. We do not accept folders or cases. We also no longer issue service tickets. We will call each applicant's name at their appointment time or shortly after, if we are experiencing delays from previous applicants. Our staff will try their best to process everyone on their appointment time but some applicants may take longer. Thank you for being patient. Please remain seated and do not approach the Visa Desk until your name is called.

Please prepare to pay for your fee with DEBIT TAP (you can also pay with Apple Pay) to minimize contact. If you don't have DEBIT TAP, prepare exact change in cash.

12. Additional information

After your application, if you discover you have come into contact with someone who is COVID-19 POSITIVE or if you develop COVID-19 symptoms, please contact us and let us know.

Prior to your visit, if you have further questions, read this page for detailed instructions of what to expect on the day of your visit and what to expect after you mail-in your application.

For visa status check & how to print your visa, click to read the article. You will also be given an instructions document at the time of application in person.

NOTICE ABOUT POSSIBLE CLOSURES: At this time, the Consulate is open for service via appointments (NO WALK-INS). However, as we respond to the evolving nature of COVID-19 in Toronto, Consulate may close or change how we operate. If an appointment you already made needs to be cancelled or postponed, you will be contacted directly by a member of the staff. Please also monitor our website for latest information. Information is frequently being updated on our website.