Korea Visa or K-ETA: What Visitors Actually Need

Type “Korea visa” into a search engine and you will find a lot of people eager to sell you one. Most travelers from the English-speaking world don’t need one for a short trip. What they may need is a K-ETA, Korea’s online travel authorization, and the government’s own site sells it for ₩10,000.

The K-ETA is not a visa, and the Ministry of Justice puts the “NOT” in capitals: it covers some of the conditions for visa-free entry, and the officer at the immigration desk still decides whether you come in. Think of it as permission to board.

Do you need a K-ETA? Check your passport

116 passport types can use the K-ETA (₩10,000): 111 countries and territories once the United Kingdom's six passport types count as one. The table shows how long each can stay and whether it is exempt through December 31, 2026.

All 116 passports on the K-ETA list, with stay and exemption

Passport	Stay per visit	K-ETA through Dec 31, 2026
Albania	30 days	Needed
Andorra	30 days	Needed
Antigua and Barbuda	90 days	Needed
Argentina	90 days	Needed
Australia	90 days	Not needed
Austria	90 days	Not needed
Bahamas	90 days	Needed
Bahrain	30 days	Needed
Barbados	90 days	Needed
Belgium	3 months	Not needed
Bosnia and Herzegovina	30 days	Needed
Botswana	90 days	Needed
Brazil	90 days	Needed
Brunei	30 days	Needed
Bulgaria	90 days	Needed
Canada	6 months	Not needed
Chile	90 days	Needed
Colombia	90 days	Needed
Costa Rica	90 days	Needed
Croatia	90 days	Needed
Cyprus	30 days	Needed
Czechia	90 days	Needed
Denmark	90 days	Not needed
Dominica	90 days	Needed
Dominican Republic	90 days	Needed
Ecuador	90 days	Needed
El Salvador	90 days	Needed
Estonia	90 days	Needed
Eswatini	30 days	Needed
Fiji	30 days	Needed
Finland	90 days	Not needed
France	90 days	Not needed
Germany	90 days	Not needed
Greece	3 months	Needed
Grenada	90 days	Needed
Guatemala	90 days	Needed
Guyana	30 days	Needed
Haiti	90 days	Needed
Holy See (Vatican City)	30 days	Needed
Honduras	30 days	Needed
Hong Kong	90 days	Not needed
Hungary	90 days	Needed
Iceland	90 days	Needed
Ireland	90 days	Needed
Israel	90 days	Needed
Italy	90 days	Not needed
Jamaica	90 days	Needed
Japan	90 days	Not needed
Kazakhstan	30 days in a row, not exceeding 60 days within 180 days	Needed
Kiribati	30 days	Needed
Kuwait	90 days	Needed
Latvia	90 days	Needed
Lesotho	60 days	Needed
Liechtenstein	3 months	Needed
Lithuania	90 days	Needed
Luxembourg	3 months	Needed
Macao	90 days	Not needed
Malaysia	3 months	Needed
Malta	90 days	Needed
Marshall Islands	30 days	Needed
Mauritius	30 days	Needed
Mexico	3 months	Needed
Micronesia	30 days	Needed
Monaco	30 days	Needed
Montenegro	30 days	Needed
Morocco	90 days	Needed
Nauru	30 days	Needed
Netherlands	3 months	Not needed
New Caledonia	30 days	Needed
New Zealand	3 months	Not needed
Nicaragua	90 days	Needed
Norway	90 days	Not needed
Oman	30 days	Needed
Palau	30 days	Needed
Panama	90 days	Needed
Paraguay	30 days	Needed
Peru	90 days	Needed
Poland	90 days	Not needed
Portugal	90 days in a row, not exceeding 90 days within 180 days	Needed
Qatar	90 days	Needed
Romania	90 days	Needed
Russia	60 days in a row, not exceeding 90 days within 180 days	Needed
Saint Kitts and Nevis	90 days	Needed
Saint Lucia	90 days	Needed
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	90 days	Needed
Samoa	30 days	Needed
San Marino	30 days	Needed
Saudi Arabia	30 days	Needed
Serbia	90 days	Needed
Seychelles	30 days	Needed
Singapore	90 days	Not needed
Slovakia	90 days	Needed
Slovenia	90 days	Needed
Solomon Islands	30 days	Needed
South Africa	30 days	Needed
Spain	90 days	Not needed
Suriname	3 months	Needed
Sweden	90 days	Not needed
Switzerland	3 months	Needed
Taiwan	90 days	Not needed
Thailand	90 days	Needed
Tonga	30 days	Needed
Trinidad and Tobago	90 days	Needed
Tunisia	30 days	Needed
Türkiye	90 days	Needed
Tuvalu	30 days	Needed
United Arab Emirates	90 days	Needed
United Kingdom: British citizen (GBR)	90 days	Not needed
United Kingdom: British Dependent Territories citizen (GBD)	30 days	The form decides
United Kingdom: British National (Overseas) (GBN)	30 days	The form decides
United Kingdom: British Overseas citizen (GBO)	30 days	The form decides
United Kingdom: British protected person (GBP)	30 days	The form decides
United Kingdom: British subject (GBS)	30 days	The form decides
United States	90 days	Not needed
Uruguay	90 days	Needed
Venezuela	90 days	Needed

The United States exemption includes Guam. The exemption notice names only "United Kingdom", so for British passports other than British citizen (GBR), the exemption pop-up that appears when you scan your passport on the official form decides.

Data: 8 sources, checked 12 October 2026

First, find your passport

The K-ETA is for nationals of the countries and territories that can enter Korea without a visa (111 countries and territories on the K-ETA center’s list, which splits the United Kingdom into six passport types) who are coming for tourism, family visits, events, meetings or short business trips. Paid work is not allowed. If your passport is not on the official list, a K-ETA is not an option, and you will need a visa through a Korean embassy or consulate or the Korea Visa Portal.

The same list sets how long you can stay per visit, as of October 4, 2026: 90 days for the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland, three months for New Zealand, six months for Canada. The K-ETA lasts longer than that, but it does not stretch your stay.

K-ETA exemption: the 22 countries that can skip it, for now

As a boost for tourism, Korea suspended the K-ETA requirement for 22 countries and regions in April 2023 and has extended the pause since. The current notice runs it through December 31, 2026, Korea time, and keeps the same countries. Korean consulates list them as:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Macao, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States (including Guam).

Note who is missing. Ireland, Switzerland and Israel are visa-free but not on the list, so their citizens still apply. If you are unsure, the form itself settles it: scan your passport on the official K-ETA site and an exemption pop-up appears if you qualify. As of October 12, 2026, the K-ETA site’s notice board had posted nothing about 2027, so the requirement is due to return on January 1, 2027 unless the ministry extends the pause again.

Also exempt, whatever their passport: anyone 17 or younger or 65 or older on the day they enter Korea, holders of a Korean visa or residence card, transit passengers who never pass through immigration, crew, and diplomatic and UN passport holders. A transit passenger who goes landside to collect a bag needs one. Dual nationals who hold Korean citizenship enter on their Korean passport.

Exempt travelers can still pay for a K-ETA. The government names one benefit: no arrival card. Since the arrival card is now free and online, that is a small perk, though an authorization issued today stays valid for three years (or until your passport expires), whatever happens to the exemption.

K-ETA or arrival card: who fills in what

You are	K-ETA	Arrival card
From one of the 22 exempt countries, no K-ETA	Not needed through Dec 31, 2026	Yes
From one of the 22, with a K-ETA anyway	Yes	No
From another visa-free country (Ireland, Switzerland, Israel and others)	Yes, before boarding	No
17 or younger, or 65 or older, on the day you enter	Not needed	Yes, unless you hold a K-ETA
Holding a Korean visa	Not needed	Yes, even if you also hold a K-ETA

Q-CODE, the health declaration, depends on where you have been, not on your passport. More below.

How to apply for a K-ETA: one site, one fee, no express lane

Apply only at k-eta.go.kr or in the official K-ETA app. The government has designated no agencies, and it warns about lookalike sites charging large fees for “express” service. There is no express service: applications are reviewed in the order they arrive.

The fee, as of October 4, 2026, is ₩10,000 per person (the site puts it at about US$7 to $8), plus an online payment fee of about 3%. It is not refunded if you are refused. Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, UnionPay, Diners Club, Discover and Alipay+ are accepted.

You need a passport, an email address, a card and a face photo: a color JPG under 20MB, face filling at least 75% of the frame, no hat or sunglasses. Religious head coverings are fine if the whole face shows. The form is in English only, takes about 10 minutes, and covers up to nine people without an account. One detail worth heeding: the K-ETA center has a notice up saying Gmail users face delays receiving its emails, and that Outlook and Hotmail can lag too. Use another address if you have one.

Apply before you book anything you can’t move. Review usually takes up to 72 hours and can take longer; an older notice from the center suggests one to two months before travel. You must hold the K-ETA before boarding, and that includes flights straight to Jeju.

How long a K-ETA is valid: three years, with conditions

A K-ETA is valid for three years, or until your passport expires if that comes sooner, for any number of trips. Get a new passport and you apply again. The same goes if your criminal record or infectious-disease information changes. If only your hotel, dates or flights change, update them under “Update Travel Information” on the site rather than reapplying.

Passport details cannot be edited once submitted. If the name, number or birth date doesn’t match your passport exactly, the airline can refuse to board you, and the fix is a new application and a new fee.

If you’re refused

The K-ETA center does not disclose its review criteria, so there is no explanation to appeal. Its answer is a visa from the Korean embassy or consulate where you live. Don’t keep resubmitting: under a 2022 rule, three applications within six months trigger a six-month block. Resubmitting only to correct a personal detail doesn’t count toward it.

The arrival card and Q-CODE

The e-Arrival Card is a separate Ministry of Justice system at e-arrivalcard.go.kr. It is free; the ministry warns about sites with similar names asking for fees. You can file from three days before arrival, Korea time, and a submission lapses 72 hours after you send it. Paper cards are still accepted.

Q-CODE belongs to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. You must declare your health status if you stayed in or passed through a “priority quarantine management area,” or visited a wider quarantine area and have symptoms such as fever or cough. The list changes every quarter. For October 1 to December 31, 2026, it covers 32 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Israel, India, Bangladesh, Brazil, parts of China and three U.S. states: New Mexico, Michigan and Washington. A connection counts, so this quarter a flight through Dubai or Doha means filing. You can enter Q-CODE from seven days before arrival or at a kiosk when you land. Skipping it, or answering falsely, can bring a fine of up to ₩10 million.

Rules here move. Check each official site before you fly. Once you land, our Incheon Airport guide covers the trip into Seoul.

Before you fly

Find your passport on the K-ETA eligibility list, and check whether it is one of the 22 exempt through December 31, 2026.
Apply only at k-eta.go.kr or the official app, at least 72 hours before boarding, earlier if you can.
Use a non-Gmail address if you have one.
Copy your passport details exactly; mistakes cost a new fee.
Apply again if you get a new passport.
No K-ETA? File the free e-Arrival Card in the three days before you land, or fill in a paper card on arrival.
Check KDCA’s current quarantine list against every country you stayed in or connected through, and file Q-CODE if one matches.

Steve OH edits Seoulpin. Steve runs Standardpin, a Seoul-based web studio that also builds websites for clinics; that work has no effect on whether or how any clinic appears here. Articles are drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed and reviewed by Steve before publishing. How we work