South Korea now allows citizens from 116 countries and territories to enter the country with the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) system instead of a traditional visa.
The K-ETA system enables travelers from qualifying countries to receive pre-travel authorization electronically, avoiding the traditional visa application process.
The list includes countries from Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific.
South Korea’s K-ETA list includes eight African countries. South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mauritius, and the Seychelles are all included, which means that nationals of these countries can apply for K-ETA instead of standard consular visas to visit South Korea.
Full List of 116 Countries Eligible
The complete list of qualifying countries and territories is shown below:
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Hong Kong
- Macao
- Colombia
- Dominica
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liiechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Etswatini
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Holy See
- Honduras
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Serbia
- Romania
- Russia
- Samoa
- San Marino
- . Saudi Arabia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Spain
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Oman
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- Tuvalu
- United Arab Emirates
- UK — British Citizen
- UK — British Dependent Territories Citizen
- UK — British National Overseas
- UK — British Overseas Citizen
- UK — British Protected Person
- UK — British Subject
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Citizens from countries not on this list must apply for a regular South Korean visa through the proper consular channels before traveling.
UK: full list of countries traveling with ETA
Meanwhile, the British government has produced a list of 82 countries whose people can travel to the UK with an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) rather than a regular visa.
According to official UK government material, the ETA permits eligible travelers to visit the UK and its associated territories, including Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, for short periods of up to six months.