Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA): Who Needs It in 2026

K-ETA and the e-Arrival Card are not the same thing

K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) is a pre-departure visa-waiver screening tied to your passport, similar in concept to the US ESTA, and it's meant to be applied for before you book or at least well before you fly. The e-Arrival Card is a separate customs and immigration declaration filed shortly before or shortly after landing, required of essentially all arriving foreign travelers regardless of K-ETA status. Confusing the two -- or assuming completing one covers the other -- is one of the most common Korea entry-prep mistakes.

Who is currently exempt from K-ETA

South Korea has run a temporary K-ETA exemption program for a defined list of nationalities, extended in stages and currently running through the end of 2026. As of this guide's review date, exempt nationalities include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and a number of European countries including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

If your nationality still needs K-ETA

1. Apply only through the official site, k-eta.go.kr, or the official K-ETA app -- third-party sites charging a markup for the same application are common and not required.
2. Apply at least a few days before departure; approval is often fast but isn't guaranteed to be instant.
3. Even if you're exempt from K-ETA, you still need to submit the separate e-Arrival Card within 3 days of arrival -- exemption from one doesn't exempt you from the other.
4. Voluntarily applying for K-ETA even while exempt can let you skip the e-Arrival Card step instead, if you'd rather handle everything in one earlier step.