We have written several articles on Q-Code requirement for entry to Korea based on the announcement by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). In the last article about Q-Code requirements, we listed the countries of embarkation where Q-Code registration was still a requirement to enter Korea as of January 2025.
At the end of February 2025, KDCA updated the list of countries under quarantine inspection. The list was set to be effective from February 26th, 2025 and valid until the next announcement.
The important notes from KDCA announcement in February 2025 related with Q-Code are as follows:
- Q-Code registration requirement is still formally classified into two: strict quarantine inspection area and general quarantine inspection area. Travelers coming from countries under strict quarantine inspection area are required to register Q-Code upon entering South Korea. On the other hand, travelers coming from general quarantine inspection area are required to register Q-Code only when showing symptom of disease under monitoring.
- There are 19 countries with strict quarantine inspection or compulsory Q-Code registration. Most of the countries are located in Middle East (13 countries). This is the same with the previous announcement.
- Symptom-based Q-Code registration is applied to 142 countries (including China and United States), which is the same with the previous announcement (143 countries or 142 countries after correction).
- Three kinds of diseases are considered highly infectious and thus leading to strict quarantine inspection: plague, animal influenza, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). This is the same with the previous announcement.
- Other diseases that are monitored via Q-Code based on the symptoms exhibited by travelers include ebola virus, cholera, yellow fever, polio, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, zika virus, measles, marburg hemorrhagic fever, lassa fever, crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever, and mpox (12 diseases). This is a slight increase from the previous announcement (11 diseases).
- Ebola virus was added into the disease under quarantine inspection with symptom-based Q-Code registration scheme. Countries that are added into ebola virus monitoring include Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
List of Countries with Q-Code Registration Requirement (as of March 2025)
If you enter Korea from the following countries, you are required to complete Q-Code registration or fill out health declaration form prior to entering Korea. Your Q-Code will be scanned at the health screening gate. Alternatively, you can submit the health declaration form that has been filled out to the health officer.
The list of the country below has been the same with the previous announcement in January 2025.
| No | Continent | Country | Disease(s) under Monitoring |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asia | Bahrain | MERS |
| 2 | Cambodia | Animal influenza | |
| 3 | China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan) | Plague, animal influenza | |
| 4 | Iran | MERS | |
| 5 | Iraq | MERS | |
| 6 | Israel | MERS | |
| 7 | Jordan | MERS | |
| 8 | Kuwait | MERS | |
| 9 | Lebanon | MERS | |
| 10 | Oman | MERS | |
| 11 | Qatar | MERS | |
| 12 | Saudi Arabia | MERS | |
| 13 | Syria | MERS | |
| 14 | United Arab Emirates | MERS | |
| 15 | Yemen | MERS | |
| 16 | Africa | Democratic Republic of Congo | Plague |
| 17 | Madagascar | Plague | |
| 18 | America | Mexico | Animal influenza |
| 19 | United States (Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, California, Pennsylvania) | Animal influenza |
List of Countries with Symptom-based Q-Code Registration Requirement (as of March 2025)
If you enter Korea from the following countries, you will only be required to complete Q-Code registration only if you exhibit symptom(s) of infectious disease under quarantine inspection, for example: high fever, red rash, or watery eyes. If your body temperature is normal and there is no noticeable symptom of disease under quarantine inspection, you do not need to do Q-Code registration upon entering Korea.
| Region | Countries |
|---|---|
| Asia (23 countries) | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Vietnam |
| Africa (51 countries) | Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea,, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| America & Oceania (53 countries) | Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela |
| Europe (15 countries) | Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine |
Similar with the previous announcement in January 2025, only passengers arriving from certain regions in China and United States are required to register for Q-Code. A passenger arriving from other regions in China and United States that are not included in strict quarantine inspection should register Q-Code only when he/she exhibits symptom(s) of a disease under quarantine inspection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I am flying from United States to Korea, do I need Q-Code?
A: Since January 2025 and extended for March 2025 until further notice, if you fly to Korea from one of these states: Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, California, Pennsylvania, you will be required to register Q-Code or fill out the health declaration form. If you fly to Korea from other states, you are not required to register Q-Code unless you exhibit symptom(s) of any disease under monitoring.
Q: I am flying from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Seoul, Incheon, do I need Q-Code?
A: Since January 2025 and extended for March 2025 until further notice, California has been included into the list of US states with strict quarantine inspection. Subject to further announcement, you are required to register Q-Code when flying from LAX to Seoul.
Q: I am flying to Korea from London, do I need Q-Code?
A: As of January 2025, UK has been removed from the list of countries with strict quarantine inspection.You do not need to complete Q-Code registration prior to entering Korea from UK.
Q: I am flying to Korea from London with layover at Dubai airport, do I need Q-Code?
A: Even though UK is not in the list of countries under strict quarantine inspection in March 2025, United Arab Emirates is still included the list. You may be required to register Q-Code once arriving in Korea from Dubai.
Q: I will be having a flight from Philippines to South Korea, am I required to register Q-Code?
A: No, as of October 2024 and extended in January 2025 and March 2025, travelers from Philippines are not required to complete register Q-Code when entering South Korea. However, if you traveler certain symptom, for e.g. high fever, red rash, or watery eyes, you are expected to complete Q-Code registration.
Q: I have filled out the health declaration form. Do I have to complete Q-Code registration?
A: Q-Code and health declaration form serve the same purpose, which is for infectious disease quarantine inspection. If you have filled out the health declaration form, you do not need to complete Q-Code registration. You can submit the health declaration form to the health officer at the health screening gate.
The Q-Code registration process seems to be a bit tricky for travelers, especially with different rules based on symptoms and country of origin. It might help if Korea could create a more streamlined system or provide clearer guidelines to reduce any confusion.