For details on Korean visas, refer to the Korea Visa Portal (Korean, English, Chinese)
For Korea entry requirements, refer to Korea Travel Safety Guidelines
■ As of April 13, 2020, the following measures have been implemented to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The visa and immigration regulations below this box will remain invalid until further notice.
1. All valid short-term visas (single and multiple, visa type: C-1 and C-3) that were issued on or before April 5, 2020 will be temporarily suspended.
* This will not apply to long-term visas (visa type: A, D, E, F,G, H) and short-term employment visa (visa type: C-4)
2. Visa-free entry and visa-waiver programs will be temporarily suspended for nationals of countries imposing entry bans on Koreans.
* This will not apply to holders of diplomatic, official passports, inbound flight (ship) crew members, and ABTC (APEC Business Travel Card) card holders.
3. All ROK’s diplomatic missions will enhance the screening of new visa applications.
* Applications will be required to submit documents such as a medical certificate issued within 48 hours before visa application and an agreement to quarantine.
* Suspension of entry from dangerous regions of China (as of February 4, 2020) and visa-free entry of Japanese nationals (as of March 9, 2020) still in effect.
* Information courtesy of Ministry of Justice
Foreign nationals entering Korea are required to have a valid passport and a Korean visa issued by the Korean Embassy or consular offices in their country. However, citizens from many countries are now permitted visa-free entry for a limited period under certain conditions. In order to check whether you are allowed to enter Korea without a visa issuance and for other requirements, please contact a Korean Embassy or consular offices in your country or visit the following websites to confirm.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- www.mofa.go.kr (Korean, English)
- Korea Immigration Service
- www.immigration.go.kr (Korean, English)
- Hi Korea
- www.hikorea.go.kr (Korean, English, Chinese)
Visa information
Example of Entry Visa to Korea
Designated Countries under Visa-Waiver Agreement with Korea
- Countries with visa-free entry for general passport holders [Table1]
* Period of sojourn indicated inside parenthesis; period is limited to days unless specified
* Countries without a specified period have a limit of 90 days
| Continent | Country / Region |
|---|---|
| Asia (8 countries) |
Japan, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Brunei (30), Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand |
| Americas (32 countries) |
United States, Canada (6 months), Guyana (30), Guatemala, Grenada, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Mexico, Barbados, Bahamas, Venezuela, Brazil, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, Argentina (30), Haiti, Antigua & Barbuda, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras (30), Uruguay, Jamaica, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Paraguay (30), Peru |
| Europe (43 countries) |
Andorra (30), Monaco (30), San Marino (30), Cyprus (30), Albania (30), Croatia, Slovenia, Vatican City (30), Bosnia-Herzegovina (30), Serbia, Montenegro (30), Greece, Netherlands, Norway (90 days within a 180-day period), Denmark (90 days within a 180-day period), Germany, Latvia, Russia (60 days / 90 days total within a 180-day period), Romania, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, Malta, Belgium, Bulgaria, Sweden (90 days within a 180-day period), Switzerland, Spain, Slovakia, Iceland (90 days within a 181-day period), Ireland, Estonia (90 days within a 180-day period), United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan (30), Turkey, Portugal (90 days within a 180-day period), Poland, France, Finland (90 days within a 180-day period), Hungary |
| Oceania (13 countries) |
Australia, Guam (30), Fiji (30), Nauru (30), Palau (30), Kiribati (30), Marshall Islands (30), Solomon Islands (30), Micronesia (30), Samoa (30), Tuvalu (30), Tonga (30), New Zealand |
| Africa & Middle East (16 countries) |
Republic of South Africa (30), Mauritius (30), Seychelles (30), Swaziland (30), Botswana, Morocco, Saudi Arabia (30), Arab Emirates, Oman (30), Qatar (30), Kuwait, Bahrain (30), Liberia**, Lesotho (60), Israel, Tunisia (30) |
** Visa-waiver agreement with Liberia has been temporarily suspended as of July 18, 2019
- Countries that do not require a visa for diplomatic & official passport holders [Table 2]
* Official passport refers to those issued to government employees on official business trips
| Passport type | Country / Region |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic & Official (39 countries) |
Indonesia (30), Lebanon (30), Gabon, Bolivia, Ukraine, Laos, Cyprus, Armenia, Japan, Mozambique, Argentina, Georgia, Moldova (90 days within a 180-day period), Azerbaijan (30), China (30), Mongolia, Algeria, Cape Verde, Myanmar, Angola (30), Cambodia (60), Vanuatu, Oman, Croatia, Bangladesh, Kuwait (90 days within a 180-day period), Kyrgyzstan (30), Benin, Ecuador (Diplomatic: Duration of mission / Official: 3 Months), Tajikistan, Vietnam, Iran (3 months), Paraguay, Belarus, Egypt, Pakistan (3 months), Belize, India, Philippines (unlimited) |
| Diplomatic only (3 countries) |
Jordan, Uzbekistan (60), Turkmenistan (30) |
Suspension of Visa-free Entry to Jeju Island (as of February 4, 2020)
To prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the following countries have been suspended of their visa-free status to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, or Jeju Island. As of February 4, 2020, citizens of the countries below must be granted with a visa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea in order to enter Jeju Island.
- Countries that require visa to enter Jeju Island due to the suspension of visa-free status
(1) Diplomatic, Official and Regular passports (35 countries)
Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
(2) Official / Regular passports only (2 countries)
Jordan, Turkmenistan
(3) Regular passports only (25 countries)
Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Gabon, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Lebanon, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Oman, The Philippines, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Vietnam
- Korea Immigration Service: +82-2-1345 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Mongolian, Filipino, Burmese, Cambodian, Bengali, Nepali, Urdu, Sinhala)
- 1330 Korea Travel Hotline: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay)
This page was last updated on January 26, 2020, and therefore information may differ from what is presented here.