Do You Need a Visa to Visit South Korea?

If you are gearing up for a vacation that includes visiting South Korea you will want to know if you can visit there without needing a visa. The need for a visa to visit South Korea depends on a variety of factors such as your nationality, how long you will be staying and the purpose of your visit. Some countries citizens do not need a visa at all to visit South Korea while others do if you will be staying longer than a certain time period and still others need a visa no matter how short of a stay they will be having in South Korea.

If you will be coming to South Korea for the purposes of being a tourist or for business and you will be staying no longer than three months and are a citizen of the one of the following countries you will not need a visa: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Haiti, Iceland, Israel, Jamaica, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Singapore, Suriname, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago and Turkey.

If you will be coming to South Korea for the purposes of being a tourist or for business and you will be staying no longer than two months and are a citizen of Italy, Lesotho or Portugal you will not need a visa. And if you will be staying no longer than one month and are a citizen of Tunisia you will not need a visa.

If you will be coming to South Korea for the purposes of being a tourist or for transit purposes and you will be staying no longer than 30 days and are a citizen of the one of the following countries you will not need a visa: Albania, Argentina, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Fiji, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, New Caledonia, Oman, Palau, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Slovenia, South Africa, Swaziland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, the United States, Vatican City, Venezuela and Yemen.

And the same applies for visits up to 90 days if you are a citizen of Australia or Hong Kong. And up to six months if you are a citizen of Canada.

Remember that if you are traveling to South Korea that your passport must be valid for at least six months when you enter the country. If you are a citizen of a country not listed above you will need to have a visa to enter the country.

Any foreigner that is staying in South Korea more than 90 days will need to apply for an alien registration card.