The K-ETA for entry into South Korea, which was mandatory for a while but is presently paused for select nationals of 22 countries during the “Visit Korea Year“ has received another waiver until the end of 2025.
In the fall of 2021 (while it was still pretty much impossible for most people to visit), South Korea introduced an Electronic Travel Authorization, which most travelers were then required to apply for.
I covered this in an article back in March of 2022:
The Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is something that has been established in quite a few countries over the last decade to facilitate their immigration procedures.
First, it was only Australia, then the U.S. introduced ESTA (for non-Visa holders), followed by Canada, and then South Korea as well. Soon, the EU and UK will follow suit, and Thailand announced they will start it soon as well. The cost to apply for the K-ETA is 10,000 KRW and payable by credit card.
2023 and 2024 have been designated the Visit Korea Year, and due to this, the government has exempted a certain subset of countries from the K-ETA requirement.
You can access the OFFICIAL K-ETA website here (please don’t fall for scam sites!).
The exemption announcement can be found on this page.
There are some general exemptions as well, such as for airline crew and transit passengers who do not require this ETA. Anyone who has one will no longer be required to submit the arrival forms at the immigration counter.
The waiver will expire on December 31, 2025, so it’s important to keep that date in mind. Until then, applying for the K-ETA is still possible but optional. The only advantage is really that you don’t have to fill out the immigration form anymore.
Mine just expired, but I decided to renew it again because I travel to Korea a lot, and it just makes my life easier, so paying KRW 10,000 (US$7) is just a convenience fee for me.
There are now three categories for visitors to South Korea:
- Visa Exempt countries with an additional waiver for the K-ETA (no need to apply)
- Visa Exempt countries whose nationals are required to apply for the K-ETA (such as Thailand)
- Visa Required countries who have to obtain an actual visa from the ROK Diplomatic Post abroad
The 22 countries exempt are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Macao, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK, US (including Guam)
This original list is from the Republic of Korea Embassy in Singapore:
All readers should refer to the document above and the websites (K-ETA and Korean Embassy) to check their nationality against the up-to-date entry requirements.
Conclusion
If you have an upcoming trip to South Korea, the requirement of applying for a K-ETA, which is currently paused for 22 countries, has received another waiver extension until the end of 2025 to promote the Visit Korea Year 2023/2024.
In this case, you will not have to apply for the ETA (unless you want to in order to not having to submit arrivals forms). For the exempt countries it’s now optional through December 31, 2025.
For all other citizens who are still required to apply, the K-ETA is mandatory unless you carry a passport from one of the 22 designated countries for travel during your Korea trip.
![Best Cryptos to Invest in This Month: December’s Crypto Boom [Latest Insights & Picks]](https://capernaum.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/best-cryptos-to-invest-in-this-month-decembers-crypto-boom-latest-insights-picks-150x150.png)
