Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA)

Who must apply

The K-ETA application guide says the system is for foreigners who want to enter Korea without a visa ⁵. It covers short stays for tourism, visiting relatives, attending events or meetings, or business, and not paid work ⁵. The guide lists the stay allowed for each country. It gives 90 days for the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan ⁵.

From 1 September 2022, nationals of 112 visa-waiver countries and regions who want to visit Jeju Island from abroad must have a K-ETA before boarding a flight to Jeju, according to a K-ETA notice of 26 August 2022 ⁴.

Who is exempt

The K-ETA site lists groups that do not need to apply ^5,6.

• Holders of diplomatic, official or UN passports ^5,6.
• Active-duty US forces personnel covered by the SOFA ^5,6.
• Flight crew and seafarers ^5,6.
• APEC Business Travel Card holders ^5,6.
• Transit passengers. The FAQ says this does not cover those who change destination or plans or collect checked baggage ⁶.
• Registered foreigners and visa holders ^5,6.
• People aged 17 and under or 65 and over on the date of entry ^5,6.
• Cruise tourists, as listed in FAQ Q57 ⁶.

Temporary exemption to 31 December 2026

A K-ETA notice whose page shows a posting date of 23 December 2025 says the Ministry of Justice extended the temporary exemption by one year, to support the tourism industry ². The period runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026, Korea time ². The notice does not list the countries. It says it applies to the countries that already have the exemption, and a pop-up shows exempt status when the passport page is scanned ². The notice list on the K-ETA homepage gives the same notice a date of 20 March 2026 ¹. This page has not established which date is the original posting.

A notice on the Korean foreign ministry's overseas missions site, posted 24 December 2025, refers to a temporary exemption for 22 countries and regions. It says Singapore passport holders are exempt until 31 December 2026 ⁷. The full list of 22 was not confirmed in the records opened for this page.

Exempt travellers may still apply to get K-ETA benefits, such as skipping the separate arrival form, and the fee is then charged ². K-ETAs issued earlier stay valid until they expire and are not refunded ².

Fee, processing and validity

The K-ETA site states the fee as KRW 10,000, or about US$7 to 8 ¹. It says processing usually takes up to 72 hours ¹. It warns about lookalike agency and phishing sites that charge high fees and claim to offer K-ETA agency or express services ¹.

A notice of 28 June 2023 says the validity of a K-ETA rose from 2 years to 3 years for applications made from 00:00 Korea time on 3 July 2023 ³. A permit issued before that date stays usable until its expiry date. If the passport expires within 3 years, the permit ends on the passport expiry date ³.