Visa requirements for South Korean citizens


Visa requirements for South Korean citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of South Korea.
As of 5 April 2020, South Korean citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the South Korean passport 2nd in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.
As of 2018, the passports of South Korea, Brunei and Chile are the only ones to provide visa-free access to all G8 countries. As of 2020, the passports of South Korea, Israel, Hong Kong and Chile are the only ones to provide visa free access to all European countries.

Visa requirements map

2020 travel restrictions

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have imposed temporary travel restrictions on South Korean citizens or persons arriving from South Korea.
Visa requirements for holders of normal passports travelling for tourist purposes:
CountryVisa requirementAllowed stayNotes
Flights to Albania are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Passengers are not allowed to enter Spain and France due to the COVID-19 pandemic
30 days
Flights to Antigua and Barbuda are suspended due to the pandemic.
Passengers are not allowed to enter Argentina due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passengers are not allowed to enter Armenia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Borders closed to all non-citizens and non-residents of Australia from 21:00 March 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passengers arriving from a non-Schengen Member State are not allowed to enter Austria due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passengers are not allowed to enter Azerbaijan due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Bahamas borders are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
*Visa on arrival has been suspended due to the pandemic
30 days
  • Not available at all entry points.
6 months
A completed awareness questionnaire must be presented upon arrival and passengers must self-isolate for 14 days.
Passengers are not allowed to enter Belgium.
Airports in Belize are closed.
30 days / 8 days
  • Must have an international vaccination certificate.
  • Pre-arranged visa on arrival available.
    • 90 days
  • Visa prior to arrival for free, visa on arrival for fee.
    • Passengers are not allowed to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina.
    90 days
  • 90 days within any year period
    • Passengers are not allowed to enter Brazil.
    Passengers are not allowed to transit or enter Brunei Darussalam.
    Passengers not arriving from Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia or Sweden are not allowed to enter Bulgaria.
    30 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Canada.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Chile.
  • Visa on arrival for Special Economic Zone is available.
    • Flights to Colombia are suspended.
    45 days
    ‘’‘Passengers are not allowed to enter Costa Rica.’‘’
    3 months
  • eVisa holders must arrive via Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport.
    • Passengers are not allowed to enter Croatia.
    30 days
  • Can be extended up to 60 days with a fee
    • Flights to Cyprus are suspended.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Czechia.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Denmark.
    31 days
    6 months
    Flights to Dominican Rep. are suspended.
    Flights to Ecuador are suspended.
    30 days
    El Salvador is closed.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Estonia.
    30 days
    up to 90 days
    Passengers and airline crew are not allowed to enter Fiji.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Finland.
    Passengers arriving from a non-Schengen Member State are not allowed to enter France.

    90 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Georgia.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Germany.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Greece.
    Maurice Bishop International Airport and Lauriston Airport are closed for all passenger traffic.
    Airports in Guatemala are closed.
    90 days
    90 days
    Flights to Guyana are suspended.
    Flights to Cuba are suspended.
    3 months
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Hungary
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Iceland.
    60 days
  • Visa on Arrival is only granted at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai airport.
  • South Korean citizens can also apply for e-Visa online for 60 days
    • Passengers are not allowed to transit or enter Indonesia.
    Passengers must go through medical screening upon arrival and are subject to be tested for COVID-19 and to quarantine.
    3 months
    Passengers are not allowed to transit or enter Israel.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Italy.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Jamaica.
    Passengers and airline crew who have transited through or have been in Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Congo, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Fed., San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, USA, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City or Viet Nam in the past 14 days are not allowed to enter.

    • Conditions apply.
    • Not available at all entry points.
    Airports are closed for international flights.
    3 monthsFlights to Kenya are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
    30 days
  • Nationals of either Koreas seeking to visit the other must submit the North/South Korea visitation verification certificate and the Departure card to the Immigration Officer at the immigration port and go through immigration inspection.
    • Passengers are not allowed to enter Kuwait.
    Flights to Kyrgyzstan are suspended.
    30 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter and transit Latvia.
    Flights to Lebanon are suspended.
    90 days
  • Pre-arranged visa on arrival also available.
    • Passengers are not allowed to enter Switzerland.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Lithuania.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Luxembourg.
    90 days
    30 days
  • Can extend for a total of 90 days.
    • Passengers are not allowed to enter Malaysia.
    Flights to Malta are suspended.
    90 days
  • Available at Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport.
    • 180 days
    30 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Moldova.
    Passengers arriving from a non-Schengen Member State are not allowed to enter France.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Montenegro.
    Flights to Morocco are suspended.
    30 days
  • Conditions apply
    • Flights to Myanmar are suspended.
    3 months
  • Available at Hosea Kutako International Airport.
  • Pre-arranged visa on arrival is available.
    • International flights to Nepal are suspended.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter the Netherlands.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter New Zealand.
    90 days
  • Pre-arranged visa on arrival is available.
    • North Macedonia borders are closed.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Norway.
    30 days
  • Issued free of charge.
  • Electronic Travel Authorization to obtain a visa on arrival for tourism purposes.
  • Electronic Travel Authorization to obtain a visa on arrival for business purposes.
  • Online Visa eligible.
    • 30 days
  • Can be extended by twice only with a fee.
    • Flights to Panama are suspended.
    Passengers and airline crew who have been in China, Iran, Italy, Japan or Korea in the past 14 days are not allowed to enter Papua New Guinea.
    30 days
    183 days
    30 days
    Flights to Poland are suspended.
    Flights to Portugal are suspended.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Qatar.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Romania
    Passengers are not allowed to enter the Russian Fed.
    30 days
    3 months
    Airports in St. Lucia are closed.
    1 month
    60 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Italy.
    15 days
    Flights to Saudi Arabia are suspended.
    90 days
    3 months
  • Can be extended up to a year with free
    • Passengers traveling as short-term visitors are not allowed to transit or enter Singapore.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Slovakia.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Slovenia.
    3 months
    30 days
    Flights to South Africa are suspended.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Spain.
    30 days
    30 days
  • For single entry stay up to 90 days a tourist card may be obtained online or on arrival.
  • For multiple entries up to 90 days an E-Visa is available.
    • Passengers arriving from outside Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom are not allowed to enter.
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Switzerland.
    45 days
  • According to IATA, visa on arrival at Dushanbe Airport also available.
    • 3 months
    Flights to Thailand are suspended.
    30 days
  • Not available at all entry points.
    • 7 days
    31 days
    90 days
    All flights to Tunisia are suspended.
    Nationals of Algeria, Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, China, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece. Guatemala, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan are not allowed to enter Turkey.
  • Pre-arrnaged visa on arrival is available.
    • 1 month
    3 months
  • May apply online.
    • Flights to Ukraine are suspended.
    Flights to the United Arab Emirates are suspended.
    6 months
    90 days
  • On arrival from overseas; ESTA required if arriving by air or cruise ship.
  • ESTA is not required for Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.
    • Flights to Uruguay are suspended.
    Flights to Uzbekistan are suspended.
    30 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Italy.
    90 days
    Passengers are not allowed to enter Viet Nam.
    90 days
    3 months

    Territories

    Visa requirements for South Korean citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas, partially recognized countries and restricted zones:

    Access-restricted countries

    , the South Korean government, due to safety concerns, has banned its citizens and permanent residents from visiting Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. Also, South Korean citizens are basically not allowed to visit North Korea except when special authorizations are granted by the Ministry of Unification on a limited basis. Yet eight people on six occasions, from Lim Su-kyung in 1989 to Ro Su-hui in 2012, have visited one or more banned countries unapproved and returned to South Korea via Panmunjom were sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years.

    APEC Business Travel Card

    Holders of an APEC Business Travel Card travelling on business do not require a visa to the following countries:
    1 – up to 90 days
    2 – up to 60 days
    3 – up to 59 days
    The card must be used in conjunction with a passport and has the following advantages:

    Consular protection abroad

    There are no South Korean embassies in North Korea and vice versa.