How to apply for a K-ETA for South Korea

Who needs K-ETA

The entry advice is written for people travelling on a full British citizen passport from the UK, and it reflects the UK government's understanding of South Korea's current rules for the most common types of travel; the South Korean authorities set and enforce the entry rules, and travellers who are unsure how the requirements apply to them are told to contact the South Korean Embassy in the UK. [3]

Within that setting, K-ETA is the authorisation layer attached to visa-free entry: anyone eligible for visa-free entry to South Korea is usually required to get K-ETA approval before departure. [3] British nationals travelling visa-free are temporarily exempt from needing a K-ETA until 31 December 2026, and the K-ETA notice board carries further information about that exemption. [3]

The exemption is described as temporary and carries an explicit end date, so a British traveller whose journey falls after 31 December 2026 cannot rely on it. [3]

Applying

If a K-ETA is needed, the advice is to apply through the Korean government's official K-ETA website, because other sites offering K-ETA application services are generally scams. [3] Approval can take up to 72 hours, which is the only processing time the entry guidance gives. [3]

The absence of those details here is not a statement that they do not exist; it means the checked pages do not describe them. [3] [4]

K-ETA and a Korean visa

Visa-free entry as described in the advice is narrow. You can enter South Korea for up to 90 days for short-term business or tourism, and you must have an onward or return ticket. [3] It is illegal to be employed in South Korea while visiting visa-free, whether as a teacher or in any other capacity. [3] Anyone travelling for any purpose other than short-term business or tourism is directed to check visa requirements with the South Korean Embassy in the UK. [3]

Read together, those lines put K-ETA on the visa-free side of the boundary rather than in place of a visa: it is the approval a visa-free visitor usually needs before departure, while a stay involving work or any other purpose beyond short-term business or tourism is a visa question to be settled with the embassy. [3]

The rest of the entry checklist

K-ETA is listed alongside other entry formalities, not instead of them. [3] For tourist entry of up to 90 days, the passport must carry an expiry date after the date you leave South Korea; for entry on a long-term visa, it should have an expiry date at least six months after the date you arrive. [3] Entry will be refused without a valid travel document or if you try to use a passport that has been reported lost or stolen. [3] See passport validity and entry checks for the wider pattern across destinations.

Foreign nationals must also submit an entry declaration form, or arrivals card, to the immigration officer on arrival; an e-Arrival card can be submitted online in advance instead of the paper form, within 72 hours (3 days) before arrival in Korea, at no fee, and paper entry declaration forms remain available. [3] Health screening is separate again, and the obligation depends on which list a traveller arrives from: those arriving from a ‘Strict Quarantine Inspection Required Area’, including those who have transited in a ‘Strict Quarantine Inspection Required Area’, must submit a health questionnaire, either through the pre-entry Q-Code system or on a paper form on arrival. [3] Travellers arriving from an ordinary ‘Quarantine Inspection Required Area’ must submit a Q-Code or paper-based health questionnaire only if they exhibit symptoms, and the UK is currently designated as a ‘Quarantine Inspection Required Area’. [3] The list of Quarantine Inspection Required Areas changes frequently, so travellers are told to check the full list before travel. [3] Failure to complete required health screenings could result in a fine of up to KRW 10 million. [3]

Exceptions and limits

• The British exemption runs until 31 December 2026 and is described as temporary, with the K-ETA notice board named as the place for further detail. [3]
• The guidance is written for full British citizen passports travelling from the UK, so it is not a worldwide statement of every nationality's position. [3]
• Applications should use the Korean government's official K-ETA website; other sites offering K-ETA application services are generally scams. [3]
• Up to 72 hours is the only processing time given for approval. [3]
• Transit and visa-free routing more generally is covered in Korea transit visa and visa-free entry.

Related pages

For the surrounding framework, see travel authorisation systems compared, entry permission types in the glossary, the full terms index, and passport validity and entry checks.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Korean work, study and resident visas are not covered here; the entry advice directs travellers pursuing purposes other than short-term business or tourism to check visa requirements with the South Korean Embassy in the UK. [3] K-ETA arrangements for nationalities other than British citizens travelling from the UK are also outside what these sources describe. [3]

1. GOV.UK foreign travel advice: South Korea entry requirements, checked 18 October 2026
2. GOV.UK foreign travel advice: South Korea, checked 18 October 2026