Korea K-ETA exemption runs to December 31, 2026

Do You Need a Korea K-ETA in 2027? What to Know Before You Book

ByHaam

Korea K-ETA is the online travel permit most visa-free visitors need before boarding a flight to Korea. Citizens of 22 countries and regions, including Singapore, Australia, the UK and the US, are exempt until December 31, 2026, going by the ministry’s last published list. I found no notice for 2027 yet, so for a January trip I’d apply.

Who has to apply for a Korea K-ETA right now?

QuestionAnswer
Who needs itVisa-free visitors from eligible countries who come for tourism, family visits, events or meetings, not paid work
Temporarily exempt22 countries and regions (list below), through December 31, 2026, Korea time
Always exemptAnyone aged 17 or under, or 65 or over, on the day they enter; cruise passengers; visa holders and registered foreigners; transit passengers who do not enter Korea
Fee10,000 won (about USD 7.49, SGD 9.57 or AUD 10.66) plus about 3% in card fees; no refund, even if denied
Review timeUsually within 72 hours, sometimes longer; no express service
Validity3 years from approval, or until your passport expires if that comes first; any number of entries
Where to applyk-eta.go.kr or the K-ETA app (the only official channels)

Checked November 2, 2026 against the K-ETA portal and Ministry of Justice notices. Exchange rates from Frankfurter, October 30, 2026.

You need approval before you board a plane or ship. The portal warns that review can run past 72 hours, so apply well ahead of the flight, not at the airport.

Is your country on the exempt list?

The ministry’s last published list names 22 countries and regions. Korean embassies posted it in 2023 and again in December 2024: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Macao, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the UK and the US (including Guam).

The extension notices for 2026 don’t repeat the list. They say the extension covers the countries currently exempt. The application tells you for sure: scan your passport photo page and a “K-ETA Exempt” pop-up appears if you qualify. Trust that pop-up over any blog list, including this one.

Citizens of Malaysia and Thailand are on the portal’s K-ETA country list but not on the 22-country list I found. Apply unless the pop-up says you’re exempt. The Philippines, Indonesia, India and Vietnam don’t appear on the portal’s list at all, so ask a Korean embassy about visas.

How long can you stay on a K-ETA?

PassportStay per entry (portal list)On the 22-country exempt list?
Singapore90 daysYes
Australia90 daysYes
United Kingdom90 daysYes
United States90 daysYes
Canada6 monthsYes
New Zealand3 monthsYes
Hong Kong / Taiwan90 daysYes
Malaysia3 monthsNot on the list I found
Thailand90 daysNot on the list I found

Source: K-ETA portal, eligible countries page, checked November 2, 2026.

The permit’s validity and your allowed stay are two separate clocks. A three-year K-ETA does not let you stay three years. Count your days from each arrival.

What happens on January 1, 2027?

Nobody can say yet. The ministry’s notices end on December 31, 2026, and the portal’s notice list had nothing newer when I checked on November 2.

The ministry has extended the exemption before. Embassy notices from December 2024 carried it through 2025, and the ministry’s notice from December 2025 carried it through 2026. Two extensions don’t promise a third.

The current notice covers a flight that lands by December 31. If you land in January or later, plan as if you need the permit until the ministry says otherwise.

Should you apply even if you’re exempt?

You can. Exempt travelers who apply pay the same fee, and a K-ETA holder doesn’t have to fill in the arrival card at immigration. The portal gives a K-ETA three years of validity, so one approved now isn’t wasted if the exemption lapses.

The catch is that nothing is refunded. If the ministry extends the exemption again, you will have paid for a permit you didn’t need. That’s a small bet, and I’d take it for a January trip.

How do you apply for the Korea K-ETA, step by step?

  • Open the official site or app. The government names no official agent. A ministry warning says copycat sites have charged much higher fees.
  • Gather your documents. You need a valid passport, an email address and a credit or debit card. On a PC you also need a face photo file. The form takes about 10 minutes.
  • Pay the fee. It’s 10,000 won plus about 3% in card fees. A card with overseas payments blocked can fail at this step.
  • Check the result. Look under “Application result” on the site or app, usually within 72 hours.
  • Keep it current. If your entry purpose, address, contact, dates, flight or companions change, update them under “Travel information update”. A new passport means a new application.
How to apply for the Korea K-ETA in four steps: apply, pay 10,000 won, wait about 72 hours, update trip details

The passport number you show at boarding and at entry has to match the permit. If you hold two passports, apply with the one you’ll carry.

What trips people up?

  • Jeju counts. The portal says you need the permit for Jeju too, before you board.
  • Transit isn’t automatic. Passengers who don’t enter Korea don’t need it. If you leave the airport to collect bags and check in again, you do.
  • It isn’t a visa. Immigration officers still decide at the desk, so an approval doesn’t guarantee entry.
  • Typos can ground you. The portal says a permit whose details don’t match your passport can stop you boarding. Re-read everything before you pay.

Fix a mistake by applying again with the right details. The portal doesn’t let you edit a submitted form.

What to read once your entry is sorted

What would I do for a January trip?

For a trip that lands after December 31, I’d apply. It costs under ten US dollars, it lasts three years, and the portal says you can’t board without it if you need it. For a trip before that date, I’d only apply if I wanted to skip the arrival card.

The short version

Korea waives the K-ETA for 22 countries and regions through December 31, 2026, with no word yet on 2027. If you land in January or later, I’d apply: it costs about 10,000 won and lasts three years.

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Sources

I'm Haam. I live in Korea and Korean is my first language. I collect the data behind every Haamoni post myself: ingredient lists from Korean product pages, records from Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Naver search trends and Korean YouTube transcripts, all read in the original Korean. Nothing here is medical advice; I stick to what labels, regulations and published studies show.

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