South Korea Entry Requirements: Your Pre-Flight Checklist

Start with your passport and travel purpose

Use the nationality and passport type shown in your travel document, rather than your home address. A person living in Canada may be traveling on a different country’s passport. Diplomatic documents, emergency passports and other special travel documents also need their own checks.

The Korean Visa Portal is the official starting point for visa categories. If your document or purpose does not fit a straightforward tourism case, ask the Korean embassy or consulate responsible for you before committing to a non-refundable trip. ^[2]

Visa exemption, K-ETA and an arrival card are different

K-ETA and a visa are not interchangeable. Equally, submitting an arrival card is not an application for permission to stay longer. Make a separate record of the answer to each question, including the travel date and the passport used. ^{[1] [3]}

Check the temporary K-ETA exemption for your dates

The Ministry of Justice notice extends the temporary exemption for the countries and regions already covered through 31 December 2026, Korean time. It does not announce an exemption for every nationality. The notice also says travelers may still choose to obtain K-ETA, with a fee, to receive associated benefits such as arrival-card exemption. ^[1]

Read the current notice again if you will travel in 2027. For an exempt traveler, buying an authorization unnecessarily is not the same as satisfying a visa requirement. Save the relevant official eligibility result with the rest of your travel documents.

Confirm your permitted stay

Allowed tourist stays are not identical for all passports. Current UK advice describes visa-free tourism for a full British citizen passport for up to 90 days; Canadian advice describes a tourist stay of up to 180 days for Canadian travelers. Both identify the temporary K-ETA exemption through the end of 2026. Apply the rule for your own document. ^{[4] [5]}

Count your planned arrival and departure dates conservatively and resolve any uncertainty before traveling. Your flight booking, your entry permission and any previous use of a visa should tell one consistent story. A longer hotel booking does not extend immigration permission.

Prepare passport and supporting documents

• Check passport validity against the official requirements for your nationality and travel purpose.
• Keep your first accommodation name, address and contact details accessible offline.
• Save your return or onward itinerary and the reference for any visa or K-ETA.
• Keep documents for children or special travel circumstances with the relevant traveler.

UK and Canadian short-visit guidance requires passport validity beyond the intended departure from Korea. A long-term visa can have different requirements. Your airline may also need to inspect documents before boarding. ^{[4] [5]}

A passport-by-passport starting point

This table is a starting point for the passports most common among our readers, not a list of every eligible nationality. If your passport is not listed, use the Korean government's eligibility route. Do not select the country where you live simply to make an application match one of the rows.

A couple traveling together can have different allowances. For example, a Canadian traveler and a British traveler should each check their own permission, even if they share all hotel bookings. Plan the joint trip within the shorter applicable allowance unless both have a different valid entry route.

For travel after the exemption's published end date, check for a new Ministry of Justice notice. A booking made during 2026 does not preserve 2026 rules for a later entry. Equally, having visited before is not evidence that the same document conditions still apply.

Work through common arrival situations

For a connection, ask the airline whether bags are checked through and whether the itinerary requires immigration, a terminal change or a different airport. The word transit on a booking is not enough to establish that you can stay airside. A self-transfer may involve a different practical process from a through-ticket connection.

Keep a small document folder with the passport, any authorization, the first hotel and the onward ticket. Save it securely offline, and keep each traveler's records clearly labeled. You should be able to explain the purpose, length and first address of the trip without searching through every email at the counter.

For a question that affects admission, contact the Korean consulate with the passport nationality and type, travel purpose, proposed dates and the precise point of uncertainty. Avoid sending unnecessary identity documents through unofficial channels. A clear written question is more useful than asking whether Korea is generally visa-free.

Use a final pre-departure checklist

1. Verify the visa route for each traveler’s passport.
2. Recheck whether K-ETA is required on the actual entry date.
3. Use the e-Arrival Card navigator and submit if it applies.
4. Save confirmations, accommodation details and your departure itinerary.
5. Check immigration notices before the journey, especially around system maintenance.