How To Get A Visa In South Korea
Are you one of those people who has been wondering how to get a Visa in South Korea? If your answer is yes, then you’ve just landed on the right page.
Applying for a working holiday visa in South Korea is a long and arduous process. Once you arrive you will also need to apply for an alien’s registration card, pay taxes and purchase health insurance. Whilst I would love to tell you that it’s all plain sailing from there, the reality is that it’s difficult to find work, even with a TEFL certificate. Partly this is because you are inexperienced and no one wants to invest in training a newbie teacher. The other part is that Korea has been plagued with hagwons (private academies) popping up everywhere, leaving very little room for foreign teachers not associated with a chain school.
Leaving your home country to study or work in a foreign country can be a daunting experience, from arranging the initial paperwork to moving and adjusting to a new way of life.
Relocating to another country requires planning ahead. But not all the steps are ones that you couldn’t have handled if you had given your application a little more thought.
How To Get A Visa In South Korea
South Korea is a versatile country, known for both the modern cities like the capital Seoul, as well as the traditional temples and the picturesque countryside.
To visit it, citizens of several countries will have to apply for a South Korea visa – although a fair number of them are exempt from visa requirements for short term purposes.
Do I need a visa for South Korea?
You need a visa for South Korea unless you are from one of the visa-free countries listed below, which include EU countries, Canada, Australia, and the United States.
South Korea visa-free countries
Citizens of several countries (as listed below) can visit South Korea without a visa for short-term visits. Foreigners entering under the visa-waiver program are not allowed to work or engage in any remunerated activities.
If you are from one of the countries exempted from South Korea visas, but you want to stay longer than the visa-exemption allows, then you have to apply for the corresponding South Korea visa before you travel.
South Korea visa exemption for up to 180 days
Citizens of Canada can enter South Korea without a visa for a stay of up to 180 days.
South Korea visa exemption for up to 90 days
Citizens of the following countries can enter South Korea without a visa for up to 90 days:
| European Union countries (except Cyprus) | Antigua and Barbuda | Australia |
| Bahamas | Barbados | Brazil |
| Chile | Colombia | Costa Rica |
| Dominica | Dominican Republic | Ecuador |
| El Salvador | Grenada | Guatemala |
| Haiti | Hong Kong | Iceland |
| Israel | Jamaica | Japan |
| Kuwait | Liechtenstein | Macau |
| Malaysia | Mexico | Morocco |
| New Zealand | Nicaragua | Norway |
| Panama | Peru | Saint Kitts and Nevis |
| Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Serbia |
| Singapore | Suriname | Switzerland |
| Taiwan | Thailand | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Turkey | United Arab Emirates | United States |
| Uruguay | Venezuela |
South Korea visa exemption for up to 60 days
Citizens of Lesotho and Russia can enter South Korea without a visa for up to 60 days.
South Korea visa exemption for up to 30 days
Citizens of the following countries can visit South Korea without a visa for up to 30 days:
| Albania | Andorra | Argentina |
| Bahrain | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Botswana |
| Brunei | Cyprus | Eswatini |
| Fiji | Guam | Guyana |
| Honduras | Kazakhstan | Kiribati |
| Marshall Islands | Mauritius | Micronesia |
| Monaco | Montenegro | Nauru |
| New Caledonia | Oman | Palau |
| Paraguay | Qatar | Samoa |
| San Marino | Saudi Arabia | Seychelles |
| Solomon Islands | South Africa | Tonga |
| Tunisia | Tuvalu | Vatican City |
Other exemptions from South Korea visas
You are also exempt from South Korea visas if:
- You have a visa for the US., Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, and you are traveling directly from one of those countries or intend to travel there afterward.
- You are part of a Chinese group tourist and have a group-tourist visa to Japan
- You have an onward flight ticket out of the country, scheduled within the next 30 days
Types of South Korea visas
South Korean visas are divided based on the duration and how many entries in the country they allow:
- Single-entry visas, valid (as the name suggests) for a single entry and up to 90 days.
- Multiple-entries, allowing multiple entries in South Korea for the duration it has been issued.
Then, depending on why you want to visit South Korea, you can apply for one of the following visas:
- South Korea Tourist Visa
- South Korea Business Visa
- South Korea Family Visit Visa (for more than 90 days)
- South Korea Work Visa
- South Korea Student Visa
- South Korea Working Holiday Visa
South Korea Tourist Visa
South Korea tourist visas issued to foreigners who want to travel simply for tourism or recreational purposes. So, you can receive a tourist visa if you are travelling for one of the following reasons:
- Tourism
- Transit
- To receive medical treatment in a South Korean hospital
- To visit a family member/friend
- To attend a religious/cultural/sporting/musival event
- Another short-term reason
South Korea tourist visas allow the holder to stay in South Korea for up to 90 days. The holder of a tourist visa is not allowed to work or engage in any other renumerated activities.
South Korea Business Visa
You are eligible for a long-term Business Visa for South Korea if:
- You are a specialist who will work for a public or private organization in Korea to repair, install, or operate imported machinery
- You will work as a manager or specialist in a company in South Korea
- You are an Intra-Company Transferee
- You are a specialist in a foreign investment company in South Korea
