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Whether you need a K-ETA for South Korea depends on your passport and your travel dates. Travelers from 22 countries and territories, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan, are exempt until 31 December 2026. Everyone else from a visa-free country needs one: ₩10,000, online, at least 72 hours before boarding. If you don’t have a K-ETA, you file the free Korea e-Arrival card instead. Here’s how the two fit together, and why a K-ETA can be worth buying even when you’re exempt.
The short answer
- K-ETA: the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, for travelers who don’t need a visa. ₩10,000, valid 3 years, at k-eta.go.kr or in the K-ETA app.
- When: at least 72 hours before boarding.
- Exempt until 31 December 2026: 22 countries and territories, among them the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany and France.
- Also exempt: travelers aged 17 or under, or 65 and over.
- e-Arrival card: free, filed up to 3 days before arrival at e-arrivalcard.go.kr. K-ETA holders skip it.
- Stay: usually 90 days visa-free on US, UK, EU and Australian passports.
Do you need a K-ETA? The 22-country exemption
The K-ETA applies to citizens of the 112 countries and territories that can visit South Korea without a visa. Before the trip, you apply online and Korea checks you in advance, much like the US ESTA. Since April 2023, though, Korea has waived it for 22 of them to encourage tourism: Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macao, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand and Australia.
That K-ETA exemption has been extended every year, most recently to 31 December 2026. The US State Department says the requirement returns on 1 January 2027. Another extension is possible, it has happened twice already, but we wouldn’t plan a January trip on the assumption.
| Your situation | K-ETA needed? | Arrival card |
|---|---|---|
| Passport from one of the 22, arriving by 31 December 2026 | No | File the free e-Arrival card (or get a K-ETA anyway and skip it) |
| Passport from one of the 22, arriving from 1 January 2027 | Yes | Unless the exemption is extended again |
| Other visa-free passport: Ireland, Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico and others | Yes | Not needed once you hold a K-ETA |
| Aged 17 or under, or 65 and over | No | File the e-Arrival card |
| Traveling on a Korean visa | No | File the e-Arrival card |
| Transit without leaving the airport | No | Nothing to file |
How to apply for a K-ETA
Apply on k-eta.go.kr or in the official K-ETA app for Android and iPhone. You’ll need your passport, a photo of your face, an email address and the basics of your trip: purpose, dates, and where you’re staying in Korea. The fee is ₩10,000 plus a small card-processing charge, about $7 to $8 in total, and it isn’t refunded if you’re turned down.
The official advice is to apply at least 72 hours before boarding. Most answers come back well within that, but at busy times they can take longer, so a week ahead is safer. An approval granted since July 2023 is valid for three years, or until your passport expires if that’s sooner, and covers any number of trips for tourism, visiting friends and family, or short business meetings. It doesn’t allow work. A new passport means a new application.
If your K-ETA is refused, the site doesn’t offer an appeal. The usual route is to apply for a visa at a Korean embassy or consulate, which can take weeks, another reason not to leave the K-ETA until the last minute.
Only k-eta.go.kr is official
Korean embassies keep warning about agency sites that look official and charge several times the ₩10,000 fee, sometimes for a K-ETA you don’t even need because your passport is exempt. The official site ends in .go.kr, and the official app is simply called K-ETA. If the price is quoted in dollars with a “service fee”, close the tab.
The Korea e-Arrival card: the free alternative
The Korea arrival card went online on 24 February 2025. The e-Arrival card is filed at e-arrivalcard.go.kr, costs nothing, and opens three days before your arrival, counted in Korean time. Once you’ve submitted it, you don’t fill in the paper arrival card at the airport. K-ETA holders don’t need either: the K-ETA already carries the same information.
It’s flexible. If your purpose of visit, address or departure date changes after you file, you can edit the card up to the moment you pass immigration, though the arrival date can only be corrected within three days of the first submission. Families and groups can be filed together: up to 9 people at once on a phone, and far more on a computer.
Is a K-ETA worth it if you’re exempt?
Exempt travelers can still apply voluntarily, and for some of them it’s the smarter move. The math is simple. For one trip before the end of 2026, the e-Arrival card is free and takes five minutes, so a K-ETA saves you almost nothing. But a K-ETA approved now runs for three years. If there’s a chance you’ll be back in 2027 or 2028, after the exemption may have ended, ₩10,000 today covers those trips as well and spares you an arrival card each time.
Our view: for a one-off holiday, don’t bother. For anyone who visits Korea regularly, for work, family or K-pop concerts, it’s the cheapest insurance on this site.
Korea visa for US citizens and other visa-free visitors
Neither the K-ETA nor the e-Arrival card is a visa. They sit on top of the visa-free rules. US citizens can stay up to 90 days for tourism or business without a South Korea visa, and the State Department notes that Korea only requires the passport to be valid on the day you enter. UK, most EU and Australian passports also get 90 days. Other nationalities have their own limits, which the K-ETA site lists by country. Staying longer, working or studying means a proper visa from an embassy before you go.
An approved K-ETA doesn’t guarantee entry either. The immigration officer at Incheon or Gimhae still decides, and can ask about your plans, your return ticket or where you’re staying.
What we'd do
On an exempt passport for a single trip in 2026: file the e-Arrival card the day before you fly. Going back in 2027 or later, or not on the exempt list: get the K-ETA on k-eta.go.kr a week before departure, and keep the approval email. Either way, pay nothing to anyone but a .go.kr site.
Next, see our month-by-month guide to the best time to visit South Korea and whether you should be tipping in Korea. Combining the trip with Southeast Asia? Most Western passports need the Vietnam e-visa, and Thailand asks everyone for its digital arrival card.
Next step: money in Korea, from Korean won and Global ATMs to WOWPASS and T-money.
Looking for the rest? Every Korea guide we’ve published, from the K-ETA to the won, is sorted by topic in our South Korea travel guide.
Once you’re through immigration, the first thing to buy is a transit card. Our T-money card guide explains where to get one at the airport and how to load it.
Sources
- Korea Immigration Service, K-ETA official site — application, fee, validity, exempt groups.
- K-ETA application guide — ₩10,000 fee, non-refundable, apply at least 72 hours before boarding.
- US State Department, South Korea country information — exemption until 31 December 2026, 90 days visa-free, passport valid on entry.
- EY, Korea extends the K-ETA exemption to 31 December 2026 — the 22 countries and territories.
- Korea Immigration Service, e-Arrival card guide — free, 3-day window, editing, group limits, no paper card needed.
- Consulate General of Korea in Boston, warning on unofficial K-ETA sites.
Data checked: 2026-09-28
