Guidelines on Invitation Letter Requests (For Overseas Blessing Ceremony Participants)

1. Background : The number of recorded illegal aliens in South Korea reached its highest peak last year since 2011 (167,780 people), and today it is estimated to be over 210,000. In order to counteract an increasing amount of illegal entry and overstay, the Korean government and immigration office have announced that they will strengthen screening for visa issuance and the surveillance of illegal aliens in Korea. It is important that we at the FFWPU International HQ cooperate to prevent visa-related problems and ensure smooth entry into Korea of members from all over the world at the time of church events and workshops. By distributing these guidelines for invitation letter requests, we hope to promote awareness in each region and nation and encourage better management of participants travelling to Korea for upcoming events, including the Blessing Ceremony.

2. Purpose of these guidelines : To set and share a standard policy for invitation procedure in order to prevent visa-related issues and illegal overstay of members visiting Korea.

3. Applying for an invitation letter from Korea

A. Format: Please use the official memo format provided by Regional HQs

1) Required information:

a. Official memo number

b. Purpose of visit

c. Name, birthday, passport no. and period of sojourn 1

d. Whether notarization is necessary or not (contact local Korean Embas sy for up-to-date information)

e. Documents required for visa application (contact local Korean Embassy for up-to-date information)

f. Applicant’s name, address, post code and telephone number

g. Visa type: E.g. Single Entry Visa, Multiple Entry Visa

2) Required documents:

a. Copy of passport main page

b. Personal information form (for 1st generation members only)

B. Application: Please send your invitation letter request memo at least 3 weeks ahead of your arrival date. All invitation requests should be collected and submitted by regional HQs.

1) Apply 4 weeks in advance if notarization will be necessary

2) Contact your local Korean embassy and check the minimum period required for visa issuance

3) Please apply in a group rather than individually, if possible

C. Application deadline (for 2017 Blessing Ceremony):

1) For countries requiring notarization: By August 9, 2017

2) For countries not requiring notarization: By August 16, 2017

1) Notarized letter: takes about 10 days to send out

2) Regular letter: takes 4 to 7 days to send out

a. All invitation letters are issued by the Korean Headquarters (not International Headquarters).

b. Process may be delayed due to schedule of personnel in charge.

E. Obligation to send a report:

1) Report to International Headquarters the number of participants who 2

successfully received their visa; please report this before they arrive in Korea.

2) In case of visa refusal, report the reason for denial provided by Korean embassy.

A. Necessity of prevention measures against visa overstays

1) Nations with a record of many illegal immigrants can be subject to visa restrictions.

2) The inviting organization can be subject to prosecution when guests in the nation are caught overstaying, and they may be restricted from future invitation procedures.

3) Each nation and region has the responsibility to put in place a management system to make sure all participants depart in a timely manner from Korea.

B. Penalties for regions and nations with visa overstays

1) If a region or a nation is considered to have failed in its responsibility in preventing participants from overstaying their visa, that region or nation may have more difficulty obtaining visas for members on future occasions.

(For 1st generations)

Participants Information Form

Member’s information (Given name) (Family name) Participant’s Name

Date of Birth Home Address

Mobil phone or Emal address Home phone

Information of registrered church

Church Address Phone Number

I here by certify that above member has been officially registered in our church since (year/month), and will abide by immgiration law during his/her stay in Republic of Korea. Sing by Church Leader : ______________________________, Date ___________________

This form should be submitted with invitation letter request to be procesed.

FFWPU International HQ