Visa requirements for South Korean citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of South Korea.
As of 2024, South Korean citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 192 countries and territories, ranking the South Korean passport 2nd in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.[1]
As of 2024, the passports of South Korea, Andorra, Brunei, Chile, Israel and Palau are the only ones to provide visa-free access to all G8 countries, and the passports of South Korea, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Palau and Uruguay are the only ones to provide visa free access to all European countries.[a]
Visa requirements map
Visa requirements for South Korean nationals holding ordinary passports
South Korea
Visit Certificate from the Ministry of Unification required
Visa not required / ESTA / ETA
Visa on arrival
eVisa
Visa available both on arrival or online
Visa required
Travel banned by the South Korean government due to safety concerns
Visa requirements
Visa requirements for holders of normal passports travelling for tourist purposes:
Visa on Arrival is only granted at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai airport.
South Korean citizens can also apply for e-Visa online for 30 days.
e-Visa holders must arrive via 31 designated airports[Note 2] or 5 designated seaports.[Note 3][112]
An Indian e-Tourist Visa may only be obtained twice within 1 calendar year.[citation needed]
Foreigners of Pakistani origin or who hold a Pakistani Passport are not eligible for an e-Visa. Foreigners who are not Pakistani nationals, but whose parents or grandparents (either paternal or maternal) were born in, or were permanent residents in Pakistan, are also not eligible for an e-Visa.[113]
Since 2004, it has been recommended to refrain from entering Iraq due to the danger of Al Qaeda, and since August 7, 2007, penalties have been introduced for Koreans entering Iraq.
Separately, according to Iraqi policy, visitors can enter Iraq with visa on arrival and e-Visa.
Visa can be obtained upon arrival, it will cost a total of 40 JOD, obtainable at most international ports of entry and land border crossings. (except King Hussein/Allenby Bridge)
Nationals of either Koreas seeking to visit the other must submit the North/South Korea visitation verification certificate and the Departure card to the Immigration Officer at the immigration port and go through immigration inspection. Also, nationals of South Korea must seek governmental authorization before departure.[134]
<~-- * To support the tourism industry, citizens of the Republic of Korea who travel to Mongolia for up to 90 days for tourism purposes are exempted from Mongolian visa requirements.
Korean citizens are exempted from visa Mongolia for only 3 years, this decision is effective from June 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024.[166] -->
Holders of an Australian Permanent Resident Visa or Resident Return Visa may be granted a New Zealand Resident Visa on arrival permitting indefinite stay (pursuant to the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement), subject to meeting character requirements and obtaining an Electronic Travel Authority prior to departure.[184] Such travellers are not required to pay the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.[183]
Since 2006, due to safety concerns, South Koreans have been requested to refrain from entering Somalia, and since August 7, 2007, Koreans entering Somalia are subject to punishment.
ESTA is valid for 2 years from the date of issuance.[271]
ESTA is also required when entering the country by cruise ship or land.[272]
Visa required for nationals of VWP countries who have travelled or been present in Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen at any time on or after 1 March 2011 (with limited exceptions), or those who have travelled or being present in Cuba at any time on or after 12 January 2021, or nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea or Sudan.
Special permit required (4 days: EUR 25 for Orthodox visitors, EUR 35 for non-Orthodox visitors, EUR 18 for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.[285][286]
Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours[296] and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.[297]
With the exception of the capital Malé, tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.[328]
Special permission required for south part of Joint Security Area, is only group visitors over 30 to less 45 people and aged 10 years and over, and another areas are restricted.
Also, South Korean citizens are basically not allowed to visit North Korea except when special authorizations are granted by the Ministry of Unification on a limited basis (e.g. workers and businessmen visiting or commuting to / from Kaesong Industrial Complex).[397] Yet eight people on six occasions, from Lim Su-kyung in 1989 to Ro Su-hui in 2012, have visited one or more banned countries unapproved and returned to South Korea via Panmunjom[398] were sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years.[399]
Many countries have entry restrictions on foreigners that go beyond the common requirement of having either a valid visa or a visa exemption. Such restrictions may be health related or impose additional documentation requirements on certain classes of people for diplomatic or political purposes.
Blank passport pages
Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages to be available in the passport being presented, typically one or two pages.[402] Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being valid or available.
Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[405][406]
Passport validity length
Very few countries, such as Paraguay, just require a valid passport on arrival.
However many countries and groupings now require only an identity card – especially from their neighbours. Other countries may have special bilateral arrangements that depart from the generality of their passport validity length policies to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens[407][408] or even accept passports that have already expired (but not been cancelled).[409]
Some countries, such as Japan,[410] Ireland and the United Kingdom,[411] require a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.
In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid for at least 6 more months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain,[412] Bhutan, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel,[413] Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru,[414] Philippines,[415] Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.[416]
Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.
Countries requiring passports with a validity of at least 3 months beyond the date of intended departure include Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Montenegro, Nauru, Moldova and New Zealand. Similarly, the EEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all European Union countries (except Ireland) together with Switzerland also require 3 months validity beyond the date of the bearer's intended departure unless the bearer is an EEA or Swiss national.
Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include Albania, North Macedonia, Panama, and Senegal.
Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.
Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month beyond the date of intended departure include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Maldives[417] and South Africa.
Criminal record
Some countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States,[418] routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have a criminal record, while others impose restrictions depending on the type of conviction and the length of the sentence.
Persona non grata
The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning them from entering the country or expelling them if they have already entered. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.[419]
Israeli stamps
Israeli border control Entry Permit (issued as a stand-alone document rather than a stamp affixed in a passport)
Kuwait,[420] Lebanon,[421] Libya,[422] and Yemen[423] do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.
To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22June2017[update]) stamped at Erez when passing into and out of Gaza.[citation needed]
Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.
Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, be fingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest travellers who refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to change planes rather than go landside.[424]
Fingerprinting countries/regions include Afghanistan,[425][426] Argentina,[427] Brunei, Cambodia,[428] China,[429] Ethiopia,[430] Ghana, Guinea,[431] India, Japan,[432][433] Kenya (both fingerprints and a photo are taken),[434] Malaysia upon entry and departure,[435] Mongolia, Saudi Arabia,[436] Singapore, South Korea,[437] Taiwan, Thailand,[438] Uganda,[439] the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Many countries also require a photo be taken of people entering the country. The United States, which does not fully implement exit control formalities at its land frontiers (although long mandated by its own legislation),[440][441][442] intends to implement facial recognition for passengers departing from international airports to identify people who overstay their visa.[443]
Together with fingerprint and face recognition, iris scanning is one of three biometric identification technologies internationally standardised since 2006 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for use in e-passports[444] and the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors who need to apply for a visa.[445][446]
Consular protection of South Korean citizens abroad
Diplomatic missions of South Korea
The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea each set the territorial scope in their respective constitutions to cover the entire Korean Peninsula.
So the two Koreas regard each other's territory as part of their own territory and do not recognize the sovereignty of the other side as a country. For this reason, embassies based on the premise of establishing diplomatic relations between foreign countries cannot be mutually established.
Inter-Korean exchange relations are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of each government, but the Ministry of Unification on the South Korean side and the Workers' Party of Korea on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea side.
Visa requirements for Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Visa requirements for Indonesian citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of Indonesia by the authorities of other states.
Visa requirements for Malaysian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Malaysia.
Visa requirements for Angolan citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Angola. As of 09 October 2023, Angolan citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 62 countries and territories, ranking the Angolan passport 75th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Bahamian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of The Bahamas. As of October 22nd 2024, Bahamian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 161 countries and territories, ranking the Bahamian passport 21st in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Barbadian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Barbados. As of 10 October 2024, Barbadian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Barbadian passport 20th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Bruneian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states which are imposed on citizens of Brunei.
Visa requirements for Burundian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Burundi. As of 11 January 2022, Burundian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 51 countries and territories, ranking the Burundian passport 92nd in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Colombian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Colombia.
Visa requirements for Cypriot citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Cyprus.
Visa requirements for Democratic Republic of the Congo citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Visa requirements for Tongan citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Tonga. As of 15 June 2024, Tongan citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 131 countries and territories, ranking the Tongan passport 42nd in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Portuguese citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Portugal.
Visa requirements for Swiss citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Switzerland.
Visa requirements for Zimbabwean citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Zimbabwe. As of 2 July 2019, Zimbabwean citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 64 countries and territories, ranking the Zimbabwean passport 80th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Andorra citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Andorra. As of 11 January 2024, Andorran citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 172 countries and territories, ranking the Andorran passport 19th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Beninese citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Benin. As of 25 October 2024, Beninese citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 65 countries and territories, ranking the Beninese passport 76th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Central African citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Central African Republic. As of 2 July 2019, Central African Republic citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 49 countries and territories, ranking the Central African passport 94th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Chad citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Chad. As of 25 October 2024, Chadian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 53 countries and territories, ranking the Chadian passport 88th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Burkinabe citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Burkina Faso. As of 2 October 2024, Burkinabe citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 60 countries and territories, ranking the Burkinabe passport 81st in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index.
↑ "eGate". customs.govt.nz. New Zealand Customs Service.
1 2 "Paying the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy". immigration.govt.nz. Immigration New Zealand. Many tourists, people on working holidays, and some students and workers coming to New Zealand must pay an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $35.
↑ "Information about: Australian Resident Visa". immigration.govt.nz. Immigration New Zealand. Australian citizens and permanent residents can visit, work and live in New Zealand. You do not need a visa before you travel to New Zealand.
↑ Baker, Vicky (20 June 2013). "Passport expiry dates and blank pages: what are the rules?". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2024. The number of remaining blank pages a passport should have is also an issue. Some travellers have reported arriving with one or less than one full page left and waiting for hours at immigration, until an official reluctantly grants them entry. The FCO lists no hard and fast rules because, in many cases, there aren't any.
↑ "Yellow Fever". Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). African Union. Retrieved 23 August 2021. African countries that requires (sic) Yellow Fever vaccination certificate: Countries that require vaccination for all travellers older that 9 months or 1 year: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameron, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'lvoire, DRC, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Niger, Togo.
↑ "Fièvre jaune" (in French). 2 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
↑ "Yellow Fever". Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). African Union. Retrieved 23 August 2021. African countries that requires Yellow Fever vaccination certificate: Countries that requires (sic) vaccination for travellers from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission or transit for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
↑ "Visitor Visa". travel.state.gov. US Department of State. Retrieved 13 January 2024. Passport valid for travel to the United States – Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the United States (unless exempt by country-specific agreements). Each individual who needs a visa must submit a separate application, including any family members listed in your passport.
↑ "Countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Turkey with their expired passports". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Republic of Turkey. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2018. Countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Turkey with their expired passports: 1. Germany – Passports expired within the last year / ID's expired within the last year, 2. Belgium - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 3. France - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 4. Spain - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 5. Switzerland - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 6. Luxemburg - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 7. Portugal - Passports expired within the last 5 years, 8. Bulgaria – Valid ordinary passport
↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Embassy of Japan in Malaysia. Retrieved 13 January 2024. Q: Do I need at least 6 months passport validity in order to enter Japan? A: Japan does not have any regulations relating to passport validity, so long as your passport will be valid until after you leave Japan.
↑ "Entering the UK". Gov.UK. Retrieved 17 March 2021. You're not from an EEA country: you must have a valid passport to enter the UK. It should be valid for the whole of your stay.
↑ Calder, Simon (24 April 2017). "Airline lobbying for a relaxation of draconian rules for London-Auckland travellers". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2018. Travellers heading west from the UK to New Zealand may soon be able to avoid the onerous requirement to clear US border control during the refuelling stop at Los Angeles airport (LAX). Unlike almost every other country in the world, the US insists on a full immigration check even for passengers who simply intend to re-board their plane to continue onwards to a foreign destination. Air New Zealand, which flies daily from Heathrow via Los Angeles to Auckland, says there are currently "strict requirements for travellers" in transit at LAX. Through passengers to Auckland on flight NZ1 or Heathrow on NZ2 must apply in advance for an ESTA (online visa) even though they have no intention of staying in the US. They also have to undergo screening by the Transportation Security Administration.
↑ "China to Start Fingerprinting Foreign Visitors". Air Canada. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2018. Effective April 27, 2018, border control authorities at all of China's ports of entry, including its airports, will start collecting the fingerprints of all foreign visitors aged between 14 and 70. Diplomatic passport holders and beneficiaries of reciprocal agreements are exempted..
↑ "Immigration & Visas FAQs". Kenya Airports Authority. Retrieved 6 May 2019. Will visitors still have their digital photo and fingerprints taken at the immigration desk on arrival? Yes, the need to have photos and fingerprints taken upon arrival is to authenticate that the person who applied for the Visa is the same person at the port of entry
↑ "Malaysia". CountryReports. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
↑ Brown, Theresa Cardinal (9 May 2016). "Biometric Entry-Exit Update: CBP Developing Land Border Process". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved 25 April 2019. While a requirement for a biometric entry-exit system has been in law for over a decade, it is not yet a reality. Many reasons for the long gestating development have been documented in BPC's 2014 report Entry-Exit System: Progress, Challenges, and Outlook, including the technological, operational, and cost challenges of creating exit systems and infrastructure where none exist today. However, many critics, especially in Congress, simply accused the Department of Homeland security of dragging its feet... the major operational, logistical, and technical challenge in implementing exit capability at our ports has been the land borders. Unlike airports and seaports, the land border environment is not physically controlled, there is no means to get advance information on who is arriving, and the sheer volume of travel—both vehicular and pedestrian—creates challenges in any system to not further exacerbate delays. While biometric exit for land vehicular traffic is still in the "what if" stage, CBP is moving ahead and piloting systems and technology to use with the large population of pedestrian crossers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
↑ Lipton, Eric (21 May 2013). "U.S. Quietly Monitors Foreigners' Departures at the Canadian Border". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2019. Long demanded by lawmakers in Congress, it is considered a critical step to developing a coherent program to curb illegal immigration, as historically about 30 percent to 40 percent of illegal immigrants in the United States arrived on tourist visas or other legal means and then never left, according to estimates by Homeland Security officials.
↑ Lipton, Eric (15 December 2006). "Administration to Drop Effort to Track if Visitors Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2019. Efforts to determine whether visitors actually leave have faltered. Departure monitoring would help officials hunt for foreigners who have not left, if necessary. Domestic security officials say, however, it would be too expensive to conduct fingerprint or facial recognition scans for land departures.
↑ "Iris Scanner Could Replace Emirates ID In UAE". SimplyDXB. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2018. The breach of privacy is probably the biggest threat to the biometric technique of iris recognition. Secondly, a device error can false reject or false accept the identity which can also have some heinous consequences. Lastly, the method isn't the most cost-effective one. It is complex and therefore expensive. Furthermore, the maintenance of devices and data can also be relatively burdensome. However, thanks to the oil money and spending ability of Dubai, they are economically equipped to effectively embrace this system.
1British Overseas Territories. 2 These countries span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia. 3 Partially recognized. 4Unincorporated territory of the United States. 5 Part of the Kingdom of Denmark. 6Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia.
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