South Korea South Korea — entry & visa requirements

Visa-free or K-ETA for many visitors; visa required for others

Max stay: 30–90 days depending on passport, 90 days maximum

Short answer

Visitors from designated visa-free countries can generally enter South Korea for tourism without a visa, usually for up to 30 days, and most of them must hold an approved K-ETA before boarding their flight or ship. Travellers who are not visa-exempt, or who need a different status of stay, apply for an e-Visa through the Visa Portal or at a Korean embassy or consulate. The K-ETA costs 10,000 KRW (roughly USD 7–8) and is valid for three years. Visa fees are paid in USD on the Visa Portal and are non-refundable even if the application is refused.

Max stay

30 days for most visa-free visitors; up to 90 days for some passports[1]

Entry permit

K-ETA approval needed before boarding for most visa-free travellers[3]

K-ETA fee

10,000 KRW (~USD 7–8), non-refundable, valid 3 years[6]

Apply at

www.k-eta.go.kr (K-ETA) or www.visa.go.kr (e-Visa)[7]

Sparse archive — being expandedCoverage of the K-ETA and e-Visa process is solid, but per-nationality lists and most FAQ answers were not archived; note also that the authority block gives a maximum stay of 90 days while our archive say visa-free visitors are generally limited to 30 days, so travellers should verify their own passport's allowance on the official portal.

Visa-exempt by stay length

Visa-free countries are designated on the basis of international conventions, the principle of reciprocity and national interest, and the archived table lists 45 such countries as of 1 October 2022. Citizens of those countries are generally allowed to tour or visit Korea without a visa and to stay up to 30 days. Only this single 30-day tier appears in the archived table.

Visa-free status is granted by designation, based on international conventions, reciprocity and national interest, with 45 countries listed as of 1 October 2022.[1]
Citizens of visa-free countries can generally visit Korea for tourism without a visa and stay up to 30 days.[1]
The archived table contains only one tier, so any longer visa-free stay is not documented in these sources.[1]

Not included in this section: The list of the 45 individual visa-free countries was not present in the archived table and is not reproduced.

Visa exemption rules

Beyond the general 30-day visa-free rule, Korea runs separate exemption tracks. Tourist and transit travellers who meet certain conditions can enter or transit without a visa for up to 30 days, and foreign nationals arriving at Jeju by port or airport for tourism or transit are admitted without a visa unless the Minister of Justice excludes their nationality. A bilateral agreement also exempts holders of certain Bangladeshi diplomatic and official passports for up to 90 days, but ordinary passports are suspended.

Tourist or transit travellers who satisfy the listed conditions may travel to or transit Korea without a visa and stay up to 30 days.[2]
Foreign nationals entering Jeju by port or airport for tourism or transit may enter without a visa, except for nationalities excluded by the Minister of Justice.[2]
Under the Visa Exemption Agreement, holders of Bangladeshi diplomatic or official passports may visit Korea without a visa for up to 90 days.[2]
That Bangladeshi exemption has been suspended for holders of regular passports and Seaman's Books since 15 July 2008, so those travellers need a visa.[2]
If you hold a visa, you must enter before it expires, and immigration officers may refuse entry if your visa type does not match your purpose.[1]

Not included in this section: Visa categories for employment, study and residency, and the website terms-of-use text.

Duration of stay

How long you may remain depends on the status of stay and the duration written on your visa or granted at the border. A K-ETA is valid for repeated use within its three-year validity, but that validity is separate from the visa-free stay period, which is set per nationality. These sources do not include a full per-nationality stay table.

Foreigners may stay in Korea according to the status of stay and the duration of stay stated on their visa.[1]
K-ETA is valid for multiple entries within its validity period, but you cannot stay beyond the visa-free period allowed for your nationality.[3]
If you hold both a K-ETA and a valid Residence Card, the status and period of stay are granted according to your Residence Card on entry.[4]
If your planned duration of stay changes, correct it under [Update Travel Information] in the [Application Results] tab.[4]

Not included in this section: Alien-registration and employment-status rules that apply to people staying longer than 90 days or working in Korea.

e-Visa & travel authorisation

Korea offers two electronic routes. Visa-free nationals listed as eligible must obtain K-ETA approval from the official site or app before boarding. Travellers who need a visa for certain statuses of stay can use the e-Visa on the Visa Portal instead of visiting a diplomatic mission in person.

Nationals eligible for K-ETA who want to enter without a visa must obtain approval before boarding their flight or ship, or risk refusal of approval or entry restrictions.[3]
K-ETA is valid for three years, or until passport expiry if sooner, although applications submitted before 3 July 2023 were valid for two years.[3]
K-ETA is no longer required for visa-free travellers aged 17 or younger and 65 or older, but anyone turning 18 on the day of arrival still needs approval.[4]
K-ETA is not required for Korean passport holders and dual nationals, active USFK service members under SOFA, flight attendants and seafarers, and ABTC (APEC) card holders.[4]
An e-Visa is an electronic visa applied for and granted through the Visa Portal, available only for certain statuses of stay, and removes the need to visit a Korean diplomatic mission.[1]

Not included in this section: Account, password and identity-verification clauses from the K-ETA terms of use.

Required documents

The documents depend on whether you apply electronically or in person, and on your status of stay. Every applicant needs passport images or the passport itself, a colour photograph measuring 3.5cm by 4.5cm, and payment details. The lists published on the Visa Navigator are stated as minimums only.

For an e-Visa application you need scanned passport pages, a natural-colour digital photo of 3.5cm x 4.5cm, a credit card for the fee, and soft copies of the documents required for your status of stay.[1]
For an in-person application you need the barcoded visa application form, your passport, a natural-colour photo of 3.5cm x 4.5cm, the visa fee and the required documents.[1]
Documents listed on the Visa Navigator are minimum requirements, and the head of the Korean diplomatic mission may request or waive additional documents, in which case the mission's instructions prevail.[1]
You must print the barcoded e-form completed on the Visa Portal and take it with the other required documents to the Korean embassy or consulate in your country of residence.[1]
If you renewed your passport because of a name change or loss, you must apply for K-ETA again even if the previous passport was approved.[4]

Not included in this section: Identity and password security clauses, dual-national and SOFA exemption detail, and residency document lists.

Fees

The K-ETA application fee is 10,000 KRW per person, roughly USD 7–8, plus an online payment processing fee of about 3%. Visa fees on the Visa Portal are charged in USD and carry extra card and electronic payment charges. Application fees are not refunded if the application is refused.

The K-ETA application fee is 10,000 KRW per person, approximately USD 7–8.[6]
Additional online payment processing fees of generally about 3% may apply, and the K-ETA fee is non-refundable once paid regardless of the application result.[4][6]
Visa application fees on the Visa Portal must be paid in USD, the billed amount may differ with the exchange rate, and credit-card and electronic payment surcharges apply.[1]
Visa fees are not refunded even if the application is denied, because they cover processing and evaluation costs.[1]
Fees can vary by nationality and agreement, for example USD 15 per person for a Chinese group tourist visa filed by a designated agency and about USD 30 for a C-3 single visa for Vietnamese applicants.[1]

Not included in this section: The list of accepted card brands for K-ETA payment.

How to apply

Use only the official portals: www.k-eta.go.kr or the K-ETA mobile app for travel authorisation, and the Visa Portal for e-Visas. The e-Visa sequence runs from form completion and electronic payment through to printing the confirmation. Applications handled through a Korean sponsor start with the sponsor sending the confirmation number and expiry date.

Apply for K-ETA only through www.k-eta.go.kr or the official mobile app, and beware look-alike agencies or phishing sites charging high fees for agency or expedited services.[7]
The e-Visa process runs in sequence: complete the application form, pay electronically, submit the application, wait for reception and review, then print and send the confirmation.[1]
Complete the electronic visa application form (form No.17) through the Application menu on the Visa Portal.[1]
Where a Korean sponsor invites you, the sponsor downloads the form and sends you the confirmation of visa issuance number and its expiry date, which you take to the embassy or consulate.[1]

Not included in this section: Instructions addressed only to competition or event winners applying through designated missions.

At the border

The archived material on the border itself is thin. It documents an immigration service centre at Incheon International Airport and one listed ground on which a traveller may be restricted. No step-by-step arrival or inspection procedure was archived.

The Global Talent Visa Center, run by the Ministry of Justice, operates in passenger terminals 1 and 2 at Incheon International Airport and offers multilingual one-stop immigration counselling.[1]
The archived terms list violation of public order or moral customs among the grounds on which a person may be subject to restrictions.[5]
Immigration officers may refuse entry if your visa type does not match your purpose of entry.[1]

Not included in this section: The service centre's eligibility list for professional, investor and resident visa holders, and its street address.

Notices & things to watch

The only substantive archived notice is a K-ETA board entry about extending the temporary exemption from K-ETA. Its scope is not described in the archived text, so travellers should check the notice board itself.

The K-ETA notice board carries an entry titled "Notice on Extension of K-ETA Temporary Exemption", dated 23 December 2025.[4][7]
The archived text does not say which nationalities or dates the temporary exemption covers, so confirm details on the K-ETA notice board before travelling.[4]

Not included in this section: Website service-suspension clauses and member-account management rules.

Legal basis

K-ETA and the associated personal data are grounded in the Immigration Act and its Enforcement Decree. The information is held in the Korean Immigration Control Information System and may be shared with other Korean government agencies under domestic law.

K-ETA information is collected under Article 7-3 (Electronic Travel Authorization) of the Immigration Act and Article 101 of its Enforcement Decree.[4]
The collected information is stored in the Korean Immigration Control Information System and may be shared with other government agencies of the Republic of Korea under relevant domestic laws.[4]
The stated basis for collecting, using and processing the data is Articles 7-3, 11 and 12 of the Immigration Act together with Article 101 of the Enforcement Decree.[5]

Not included in this section: Long-stay business, trade and overseas-Korean visa categories (D-9, H-2) cited in the same capture.

Official downloads

16 documents · grouped by how they are used8 files as ZIP ≈1.6 MB

These are official application and reference forms: visa application forms from the Visa Portal and Hi-Korea, plus travel authorisation and entry-related forms. Only the generic application forms are normally needed by a visitor; the rest are reference or long-stay documents.

PDF

CcviApplicationForm

Korean-language visa application form (5 pages) from the Visa Portal, to be completed and submitted when applying.

RequiredApplication form5 pp167 KBkoCcviApplicationForm.pdf

[8]
PDF

Visa Application Form (English) - visa.go.kr 20260909 145812

English-language visa application form (6 pages) from the Visa Portal, the version most visitors will fill in.

RequiredApplication form6 pp818 KBenVisa Application Form (English) - visa.go.kr_20260909_145812.pdf

[9]
PDF

VisaApplicationForm Chinese downfile

Chinese-language visa application form (5 pages) from the Visa Portal, for applicants who prefer to complete it in Chinese.

RequiredApplication form5 pp206 KBenVisaApplicationForm_Chinese_downfile.pdf

[10]
PDF

단체사증발급대상자 명단 (GROUP LIST)

One-page Korean group visa applicant list, used when a designated agency files a group tourist application.

RequiredApplication form1 pp9 KBko단체사증발급대상자명단.pdf

[11]
PDF

사증발급인정신청서

Korean application for a visa issuance confirmation (5 pages), the form used when a Korean sponsor invites the applicant.

RequiredApplication form5 pp171 KBko사증발급인정신청서.pdf

[12]
PDF

입국허가신청서(APPLICATION FOR ENTRY PERMIT)

One-page Korean application for an entry permit, a Hi-Korea form used in specific entry-permission cases.

RequiredApplication form1 pp72 KBko입국허가신청서.pdf

[13]
DOC

단기체류 외국인 숙박신고서

Korean accommodation report form for short-stay foreigners, explaining when a short-stay visitor must report where they are staying.

BackgroundApplication form78 KB단기체류 외국인 숙박신고서.doc

[14]
PDF

동일인확인서

One-page Korean same-person confirmation form, used as supporting reference when the same individual must be identified across documents.

BackgroundDeclaration / guarantee1 pp134 KB동일인확인서.pdf

[15]

Official sources

49 citations · 7 unique pages · 2 official domains

The sources are official portals (visa.go.kr, k-eta.go.kr, hikorea.go.kr) and explain the K-ETA and e-Visa mechanics well, but they do not contain the full visa-free country list, per-nationality stay periods, or most FAQ answers.

Numbers match the markers in the text above; click a marker to jump here. Groups are collapsed by domain - click a heading to expand. A source cited more than once keeps a single number.

www.k-eta.go.kr5 URLs · cited 26 times

3www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/guide/viewetaapplication.docited 4×
4www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/board/viewboardlist.docited 14×
5www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/newapply/applystep1.docited 2×
6www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/guide/viewetafeeinformation.docited 3×
7www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/newapply/index.docited 3×

www.visa.go.kr2 URLs · cited 23 times

1www.visa.go.kr/openPage.docited 19×
2www.visa.go.kr/biz/vg/vw/selectVisaWizardList.docited 4×

Popularity rank #1 (score 85.73). This page was written by an AI from the official material listed above and adds no facts from outside it; visa rules change, so always confirm on the official portal before you apply.