In the previous article about Q-Code requirements update, we explained and summarized the policy update regarding Q-Code requirements based on the travelers’ countries of embarkation for those coming to Korea in the first quarter of 2026 (January – March 2026).

At the end of March 2026, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) published another update to the list of countries under quarantine inspection. The list is set to be effective from April 1, 2026 and expected to be valid until the end of the second quarter of 2026.

Notes on Latest Q-Code Requirements (April 2026)

The important notes from KDCA Q-Code policy update in March 2026, to be applied starting from April 1, 2026, are as follows:

• Similar with the previous announcement, Q-Code registration requirements are still categorized into two quarantine inspection levels of area under monitoring: strict quarantine inspection area (region where quarantinable infectious disease is highly fatal or contagious) and general quarantine inspection area (region where quarantinable infectious disease is prevalent or likely to become prevalent). Travelers coming from countries under strict quarantine inspection area are required to register Q-Code or fill out health questionnaire 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.
• Four kinds of infectious diseases are considered highly fatal or contagious and thus leading to strict quarantine inspection: plague, animal influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Nipah virus that is newly added to the list (recategorized from general quarantine inspection disease). Marburg hemorrhagic fever has been removed from the strict quarantine inspection disease and recategorized in general quarantine inspection disease.
• Diseases that are monitored via Q-Code based on the symptoms exhibited by travelers include cholera, yellow fever, polio, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, zika virus, measles, marburg hemorrhagic fever, lassa fever, crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever, ebola virus (11 diseases). The number is a slight decrease compared to the previous announcement (12 diseases).
• There are 21 countries with strict quarantine inspection or compulsory Q-Code registration. Most of the countries are still located in Middle East (13 countries). This is a noticeable decrease compared to the previous announcement (24 countries).
• Vietnam, Mexico, and Ethiopia have been removed from the strict quarantine inspection area list.
• California has been removed from the regions of USA under strict quarantine inspection.
• Symptom-based Q-Code registration is applied to 153 countries (including China and United States), which is the same number compared to the previous announcement.

List of Countries with Mandatory Q-Code Registration Requirement (as of April 2026)

If you enter Korea from the following countries, you are required to complete Q-Code registration online or manually fill out the paper health declaration form when entering Korea. If you do Q-Code registration, your Q-Code will be scanned at the health screening gate. For the case that you decide to go with the manual route, which is filling out the yellow-colored paper health declaration form, you can hand in the completed health declaration form to the health officer at the health screening gate.

Mandatory Q-Code registration or health questionnaire submission is applied to passengers who embark from or transfer through any of the countries listed in the table below.

No	Continent	Country	Disease(s) under Monitoring
1	Asia	Bahrain	MERS
2		Bangladesh	Animal influenza, nipah virus
3		Cambodia	Animal influenza
4		China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing, Tianjin, Henan, Hunan, Hubei)	Animal influenza
5		India	Animal influenza, nipah virus
6		Iran	MERS
7		Iraq	MERS
8		Israel	MERS
9		Jordan	MERS
10		Kuwait	MERS
11		Lebanon	MERS
12		Mongolia	Plague
13		Oman	MERS
14		Qatar	MERS
15		Saudi Arabia	MERS
16		Syria	MERS
17		United Arab Emirates	MERS
18		Yemen	MERS
19	Africa	Democratic Republic of Congo	Plague
20		Madagascar	Plague
21	America	United States (New Mexico, Washington)	Plague, animal influenza

List of Countries with Symptom-based Q-Code Registration Requirement (as of April 2026)

If you enter Korea from the following countries, you will only be required to complete Q-Code registration 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 (22 countries)	Afghanistan, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, 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, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, French Réunion, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Republic of Tunisia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
America & Oceania (59 countries)	Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kiribati, Martinique, Mexico, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Polynesia (French), Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sint Maarten, Sólomon Íslands, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Wallis-et-Futuna
Europe (21 countries)	Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Madeira (Portugal), Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine

Similar with the previous announcement for January 2026, 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 the person 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, some states in the USA have been included in the strict quarantine area list. Starting from April 1, 2026 until the next announcement, if you fly to Korea from one of these states: New Mexico and Washington you will be required to complete Q-Code registration 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 (ICN). Do I need Q-Code?
A: Starting from April 1, 2026, Q-Code registration is not required when flying from California. This means that if you fly from LAX, you don’t need to submit Q-Code upon entry in Korea.

Q: I am flying from San Fransisco International Airport (SFO) to Seoul, Incheon (ICN). Do I need Q-Code?
A: Starting from April 1, 2026, Q-Code registration is not required for passengers embarking from or transiting through California. So, if you fly from SFO to ICN, you don’t need to submit Q-Code when arriving in Korea.

Q: I am flying from Mexico to Seoul, Incheon. Am I required to submit Q-Code?
A: Effective from April 1, 2026, passengers traveling from Mexico to Korea is not required to submit Q-Code when entering Korea.

Q: I am flying to Korea from London (LHR), do I need Q-Code?
A: As of January 2025, UK has been removed from the list of countries with strict quarantine inspection. You will only need to complete Q-Code registration prior to entering Korea from UK if you exhibit symptom(s) of disease under monitoring.

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 July 2025, United Arab Emirates is still included the list. You will 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, travelers from Philippines are not required to complete register Q-Code when entering South Korea. However, if you exhibit certain symptom, for e.g. high fever, red rash, or watery eyes, you are expected to complete Q-Code registration.

Q: I am flying to Korea from India. Do I need to submit Q-Code?
A: Since October 2025 and extended in December 2025 and March 2026 Q-Code update, passengers flying from or transiting through India are required to submit Q-Code or health questionnaire form when arriving in Korea.

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.