K-ETA Korea: Do You Need It and How to Apply

K-ETA Korea rules confuse a lot of first-time visitors, partly because the answer depends on your passport and partly because the rules have changed several times since 2021. This guide explains what the K-ETA is, who needs it today, who is exempt until the end of 2026, how to apply on the official site, and how it relates to Korea's online arrival card.

The short version: if your passport lets you visit South Korea without a visa, you normally need an approved K-ETA before you board. Nationals of 22 countries and regions are temporarily exempt until 31 December 2026. If you need a visa for Korea, the K-ETA does not apply to you at all.

What the K-ETA is

The Korea Electronic Travel Authorization is an online pre-screening for travellers who can enter South Korea without a visa. You fill in a form with your passport details, travel plans and a photo, the Ministry of Justice checks it, and an approval is linked to your passport. Airlines check your status before you board a flight to Korea.

A few points that are easy to miss:

• It is not a visa. It only confirms you can use the visa-free entry your passport already gives you. The immigration officer at the airport still makes the final decision.
• One approval covers several trips. It is valid for three years, or until your passport expires if that comes first.
• The length of stay does not change. The number of days you can stay is set by your country's visa waiver agreement with Korea, not by the K-ETA.

K-ETA Korea exemption until 31 December 2026

Korea's Ministry of Justice first suspended the K-ETA requirement for a list of countries in 2023 to support tourism, and it has extended that exemption each year. The current extension runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 (Korea time).

The 22 countries and regions on the list are:

• Asia: Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau
• North America: United States (including Guam), Canada
• Europe: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Austria
• Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

If your passport is on this list and you enter Korea on or before 31 December 2026, you can travel with your passport only.

What happens from 1 January 2027

As of late October 2026, the Ministry of Justice has not announced whether the exemption will be extended again. If no new notice appears, travellers from these countries would need an approved K-ETA for arrivals from 1 January 2027.

If you are planning a trip for early 2027, for example around Seollal or the cherry blossom season, check the notice board on the official K-ETA site in December. Applying anyway is allowed, and the approval would cover you whatever is decided, but the fee is not refundable.

Photo: Frank Schulenburg / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Who needs a K-ETA right now

You need an approved K-ETA if all of these are true:

• Your passport is from a country or region that can enter Korea visa-free or under a visa waiver agreement.
• Your country is not on the 22-country exemption list above.
• You do not hold a Korean visa or residence card.

Many travellers from South-East Asia fall into this group. Thai and Malaysian passport holders, for example, can visit Korea visa-free but are not on the exemption list, so they need a K-ETA before boarding. Check the K-ETA site by scanning your passport during the application: the system tells you if you are exempt.

If your nationality needs a visa for Korea, apply for the visa through the Korean embassy or the official visa portal. The K-ETA is not an alternative to a visa.

How to apply on the official site

Use only k-eta.go.kr or the official K-ETA mobile app. Many third-party sites look official and charge several times the real fee.

1. Prepare your documents. You need a valid passport, a recent face photo, an email address and your planned address in Korea, usually your first hotel. 2. Fill in the form. It asks for passport information, contact details, travel purpose, employment details and the date you plan to arrive. 3. Pay the fee. The official fee is 10,000 won per person, plus a small online payment charge. The fee is not refundable, even if the application is refused. 4. Wait for the result. The official guidance is to apply at least 24 hours before you board. Most results come back within 72 hours, but some take longer, so apply well before your flight rather than the night before. 5. Check the result online. The approval is linked to your passport electronically. You do not need to print anything, though a screenshot is useful if an airline agent asks.

Each traveller needs a separate application, including children. A group or family can apply together in one session, but each person still pays and receives their own result.

If your application is refused

A refusal does not ban you from Korea. It means you cannot use visa-free entry on that passport for now. Your options are to apply again after correcting any mistakes, or to apply for a visa through the Korean embassy. Refusals are not explained in detail, so read every field carefully before you submit. Common problems are a mismatch between the name on the form and the passport, an unclear photo, and vague answers about where you will stay.

The e-Arrival Card: the other form

Korea also replaced the paper arrival card with an online e-Arrival Card on 24 February 2025. It is free, and you can submit it up to three days before you arrive at the official site, e-arrival.go.kr.

How the two fit together:

• If you hold an approved K-ETA, you do not need the e-Arrival Card. That is one of the official benefits of the K-ETA.
• If you are exempt from the K-ETA, you can either fill in the free e-Arrival Card or a paper card, or apply for a K-ETA anyway and pay the fee to skip the arrival card.
• If you have a visa, you fill in the e-Arrival Card or a paper card.

For most exempt travellers on a single short trip, the free arrival card is the simpler choice.

A simple timeline before a Korea trip

• When you book flights: check whether your passport is on the exemption list and whether your travel dates go past 31 December 2026.
• Two weeks before: apply for the K-ETA if you need one. That leaves time to fix a refusal or apply for a visa.
• Three days before: if you do not have a K-ETA, submit the e-Arrival Card.
• Before you fly: save the hotel address in Korean and English, since both forms and the immigration officer may ask for it.

The international travel checklist covers the other paperwork to sort out in the weeks before a trip. If you plan to keep approval emails, flight numbers and hotel addresses together, a trip in RoamerPlanner can hold them with the day plan.

Planning the trip itself

Once entry is sorted, the 3 days in Seoul itinerary is a good base for a first visit, and the comparison in Seoul vs Tokyo helps if you are still deciding between the two cities.

Quick FAQ

Do US, UK and Australian citizens need a K-ETA in 2026? No, not for arrivals up to 31 December 2026. They are on the temporary exemption list.

How much does the K-ETA cost? 10,000 won per person on the official site, plus an online payment charge.

How long is it valid? Three years, or until your passport expires if sooner.

Does it guarantee entry? No. Immigration officers make the final decision at the border.

Sources: K-ETA official notice on the 2026 temporary exemption (k-eta.go.kr); Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the USA notice, 29 December 2025; VisitKorea visa and e-Arrival Card pages. Checked 27 October 2026.

Cover photo: Vuong Tri Binh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0