South Korea Entry Requirements; All you need to know

Tourist travel to South Korea has opened up! If you are planning a leisure trip to South Korea, there are some things you need to prepare or take note of. This article will highlight all South Korea entry requirements you need to know before flying.

BEFORE DEPARTURE

1) Vaccination Status

As of 8th June 2022, there is no requirement for you to be vaccinated to enter South Korea quarantine-free.

2) K-ETA/Visa to enter South Korea

Depending on your nationality, you either can enter South Korea visa-free OR need to apply for a valid tourist visa.

First, check if you can enter South Korea visa-free by checking if your home country appears on this list.

3) Register for Q-code

Go to this website and apply for a Q-code. During the registration process, you will be uploading certain documents and information like your PDT results, passport number, health declaration etc. so they can generate a QR code for you which will be used during the immigration process in South Korea. This generated QR code allows the officers to check your documents quickly so you can clear immigration without hassle.

HOT TIP: You might want to print out all the important related documents (like the generated QR code or K-ETA confirmation) in case of unforeseen circumstances.

4) Take a COVID-19 Pre-Departure Test (PDT)

For PDT, you can either take a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test OR a Rapid Antigen Test (ART or RAT). Both tests have to be administered by a medical institute or professional. Check your local Korean Embassy’s website for a list of approved test providers.

Children under the age of 6 (as of entry date) accompanied by fully-vaccinated adults who submit valid negative test results can be exempted from PDT.

UPDATE: Inbound travellers will no longer be required to take a PDT to enter Korea from 3 Sep 2022 onwards (including travellers departing from another country on 2 Sep 2022 but arrive in Korea after 3 Sep 2022, 0000hrs)

UPON ARRIVAL

1) Face Mask Requirements

Wearing of face masks indoors is required e.g. on public transport or in shopping malls. Wearing face masks outdoors is not mandatory.

2) Take an On-Arrival Test (OAT) within 1 day of arrival

After arriving in South Korea, all travellers are required to take an on-arrival PCR test within 1 day of arrival (e.g. if a traveller arrives on 26 July 2022, he/she will have until 27 July 2022, 11:59 pm to get tested) at the testing centres located at Incheon Airport (click here to book), Gimhae Airport (click here to book), or Jeju International Airport (click here to book) or at medical institutes near their accommodation (list of approved medical institutes). The OAT costs must be paid by the traveller. Tourists are NOT ALLOWED to take their OAT at Health Centers (보건소).

It is recommended for travellers to stay in their accommodations until they receive a negative PCR test result. If the test result comes back positive, Koreans and ARC holders must self-quarantine at their own accommodation while tourists and short-term visitors must quarantine at an allocated quarantine facility for 7 days.

UPDATE: According to this article, travellers no longer have to take an on-arrival test from 1 Oct 2022. As a result, uploading of OAT results will also not be required.

3) Upload your OAT result onto the Q-code system within 3 days of arrival

Starting from 14 July 2022, all travellers entering South Korea may upload their OAT results onto the Q-code system, regardless of whether they have registered and used the Q-code to enter the country.

Go to this link to upload your results. You may submit a screenshot of the text message with the result received from the test centre, provided that your name, test centre name, and the result are visible.

If, for any reason at all, you are unable to upload the result through the Q-code system, please contact or visit your local public health centre to submit your result.

That’s it!

The above are the things you need to take note of before you travel to South Korea. This post will be updated along the way as South Korea entry requirements change so check back here if need a refresher or check your local Korean Embassy website for official updates.

Are you looking for some travel recommendations? Check out our Travel Page right here!

Source: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/sg-en/brd/m_2435/view.do?seq=761395&page=1

(Updated as of 30 Sep 2022)