According to some news reports, the Mongolian ambassador to South Korea has stated that the visa requirements for Korean tourist visa (for Mongolians) are very stringent. He was reported as saying that particularly, the ‘bank balance requirement’ which holds that a Mongolian tourist applicant who has no relatives in South Korea must show proof of having at least US$ 10,000 in his bank account, is very stringent and tough to meet. And, even those who have relatives in South Korea need to show that they have a bank balance of at least US$ 5,000.
The ambassador stated that not only the financial requirement, even the other requirements (in all, there are 10 requirements for Mongolians for obtaining a South Korea tourist visa) such as the applicant having to submit a ‘criminal record certificate’ and an ‘employment certificate’ are stringent indeed. He therefore called upon the government of South Korea to relax its ‘visa requirement rules’. He stated that actually, no other embassy in Ulaanbaatar has such strict and stringent visa rules, and so his plea for relaxing the present rules.
He also noted that South Korea is the only country requiring the Mongolians to submit the financial statement, and so his request to its government to do away with this rule.
He also said that by typical/average Mongolian standards, US$ 10,000 was a large amount.
