Visa-Free Travel to South Korea: Eligible Countries and Special Visa-Free Policies

In 2025, South Korea welcomed 18.9 million visitors, a number that’s higher than the pre-pandemic record in 2019 at 17.5 million visitors. The country aims to increase the number further to 30 million visitors by 2030, over 60% higher than the 2025 figure, which would require an average of 10% annual growth from 2026 to 2030. To achieve the target, we believe there will be interesting development on South Korea visa policies, especially the expansion of visa exemption programs.

In this article, we summarize various visa exemption policies enacted by the South Korean government, from the general visa-free entry policy applied on citizenship basis, regional visa waiver programs, and other conditional, constraint-based visa-free policies.

Countries with Visa-Free Entry to Korea

As of April 2026, visitors from 111 countries can enter Korea visa-free. Refer to the table below for the full list of the countries whose citizens are granted visa waiver to enter South Korea.

No	Region	Country / Special Government	Duration of Stay
1	Asia	Bahrain	30 days
2		Brunei	30 days
3		Hong Kong	90 days
4		Israel	90 days
5		Japan	90 days
6		Kazakhstan	30 days
7		Kuwait	90 days
8		Macao	90 days
9		Malaysia	3 months
10		Oman	30 days
11		Qatar	90 days
12		Saudi Arabia	30 days
13		Singapore	90 days
14		Taiwan	90 days
15		Thailand	90 days
16		Turkiye	90 days
17		United Arab Emirates	90 days
18	Europe	Albania	30 days
19		Andorra	30 days
20		Austria	90 days
21		Belgium	3 months
22		Bosnia-Herzegovina	30 days
23		Bulgaria	90 days
24		Croatia	90 days
25		Cyprus	30 days
26		Czech Republic	90 days
27		Denmark	90 days
28		Estonia	90 days
29		Finland	90 days
30		France	90 days
31		Germany	90 days
32		Greece	3 months
33		Holy See	30 days
34		Hungary	90 days
35		Iceland	90 days
36		Ireland	90 days
37		Italy	90 days
38		Latvia	90 days
39		Liechtenstein	3 months
40		Lithuania	90 days
41		Luxembourg	3 months
42		Malta	90 days
43		Monaco	30 days
44		Montenegro	30 days
45		Netherlands	3 months
46		Norway	90 days
47		Poland	90 days
48		Portugal	90 days
49		Serbia	90 days
50		Romania	90 days
51		Russia	60 days
52		San Marino	30 days
53		Slovakia	90 days
54		Slovenia	90 days
55		Spain	90 days
56		Sweden	90 days
57		Switzerland	3 months
58		United Kingdom	90 days (British citizen), 30 days (other British nationals)
59	America / Oceania	Antigua and Barbuda	90 days
60		Argentina	90 days
61		Australia	90 days
62		Bahamas	90 days
63		Barbados	90 days
64		Brazil	90 days
65		Canada	6 months
66		Chile	90 days
67		Colombia	90 days
68		Costa Rica	90 days
69		Dominica	90 days
70		Dominican Republic	90 days
71		Ecuador	90 days
72		El Salvador	90 days
73		Fiji	30 days
74		Grenada	90 days
75		Guatemala	90 days
76		Guyana	30 days
77		Haiti	90 days
78		Honduras	30 days
79		Jamaica	90 days
80		Kiribati	30 days
81		Marshall Islands	30 days
82		Mexico	3 months
83		Micronesia	30 days
84		Nauru	30 days
85		New Caledonia	30 days
86		New Zealand	3 months
87		Nicaragua	90 days
88		Palau	30 days
89		Panama	90 days
90		Paraguay	30 days
91		Peru	90 days
92		Samoa	30 days
93		Solomon Islands	30 days
94		St. Kitts and Nevis	90 days
95		St. Lucia	90 days
96		St. Vincent	90 days
97		Suriname	3 months
98		Tonga	30 days
99		Trinidad and Tobago	90 days
100		Tuvalu	30 days
101		USA	90 days
102		Uruguay	90 days
103		Venezuela	90 days
104	Africa	Botswana	90 days
105		Eswatini	30 days
106		Lesotho	60 days
107		Mauritius	30 days
108		Morocco	90 days
109		Seychelles	30 days
110		South Africa	30 days
111		Tunisia	30 days

As can be seen in the table, as of April 2026, visa-free entry to South Korea is applicable to citizens from 17 countries / special governments in Asia, 41 countries / special government in Europe, 45 countries in America / Oceania, and 8 countries in Africa.

It is important to note that even though you are from a visa-waiver country, you may need to obtain pre-approval to enter South Korea. This is since South Korean government applies travel authorization under Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) scheme.

K-ETA as Pre-Approval for Entry to South Korea

K-ETA (in Korean: 사전여행허가서) was first implemented on September 1, 2021, primarily as a measure to address the growing number of foreign nationals overstaying their visas or stay permit. An official web portal (K-ETA web portal) was also launched to handle the electronic travel authorization application and issuance process.

To apply for K-ETA, you simply visit the portal and create a new application. You will be guided to input various details that include your email address, passport info, and also some details about your travel to Korea. You will be charged a non refundable fee of KRW 10,000 (around $7) for your application, and you can pay with credit card. Your K-ETA application will then be processed within 72 hours after submission.

After your K-ETA is issued, it will remain valid for 3 years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. You can use your K-ETA multiple times as long as it is still valid. So, when you visit Korea the next time, a new K-ETA application is not needed as long as you still have a valid K-ETA document.

Another benefit that you get with a valid K-ETA is that you don’t need to submit arrival card when entering South Korea.

K-ETA Exemption as of 2026

You may be wondering if K-ETA turns into an impediment instead of an incentive for those who plan to visit South Korea. In 2023, the South Korean government announced K-ETA exemption for 22 countries to be implemented from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024. In December 2024, the Korean government through Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced one year extension of K-ETA exemption from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025. More recently, in December 2025, it was announced that K-ETA exemption would be extended for another year, which is to be effective from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. The list of countries that are exempted for 2026 is the same with the original announcement in 2023.

If you are a country that is included in the K-ETA exemption countries / special regions below, you don’t need K-ETA for visiting South Korea:
– Asia: Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Singapore, Taiwan
– America: Canada, United States (including Guam)
– Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
– Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

If you’re not from the 22 countries above but your country is in the visa-free list, you need to obtain K-ETA prior to your departure to South Korea.