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Visa requirements for South Korean citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of South Korea.
Contents
- Visa requirements
- Territories
- Access restricted countries
- APEC Business Travel Card
- Vaccination
- Passport validity
- Israeli stamps
- Fingerprinting
- References
As of 1 January 2017, South Korean citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 170 countries and territories, ranking the South Korean passport 7th in terms of travel freedom (tied with Australian passport) according to the Henley visa restrictions index.
As of 2017, the passports of South Korea, Hong Kong, Israel and Chile are the only regular passports to provide visa-free access to all of Europe, and the passports of South Korea and Chile are the only ones to provide visa-free access to all G8 countries. (All others require visas at least for the United States or for Russia.) In addition, the South Korean passport provides visa-free access to largest area of the world.
Visa requirements
Visa requirements for holders of normal passports traveling for tourist purposes:
Territories
Visa requirements for South Korean citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas, partially recognized countries and restricted zones:
Access-restricted countries
As of Jan. 1st, 2014, the South Korean government, due to safety concerns, has banned its citizens from visiting Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Also, South Korean citizens are basically not allowed to visit North Korea except when special authorizations are granted by the Ministry of Unification on a limited basis (e.g. workers and businessmen visiting or commuting to/from Kaesong Industrial Complex). Yet eight people on six occasions, from Lim Su-kyung in 1989 to Ro Su-hui in 2012, have visited North Korea unapproved and returned to South Korea via Panmunjom despite imprisonment of up to 10 years upon conviction.
APEC Business Travel Card
Holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) travelling on business do not require a visa to the following countries:
1 – up to 90 days
2 – up to 60 days
3 – up to 59 days
The card must be used in conjunction with a passport and has the following advantages:
Vaccination
Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia require all incoming passengers to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination. Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area.
Passport validity
Many countries require passport validity of no less than 6 months and one or two blank pages.
Countries requiring passport validity of at least 6 months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Cambodia, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq (except when arriving at Basra - 3 months and Erbil or Sulaimaniyah - on arrival), Israel, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, countries requiring passport validity of at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia, Zambia, countries requiring passport validity of at least 3 months on arrival include Georgia, Honduras, Iceland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Moldova, Nauru, Panama, United Arab Emirates and countries requiring passport validity of at least 1 month on arrival include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Macao, New Zealand, South Africa. Other countries require either a passport valid on arrival or passport valid throughout the period of intended stay.
Israeli stamps
Visitors with passport stamp of Israel are not allowed to enter a number of countries because of the Arab League boycott of Israel.
Fingerprinting
Several countries including Argentina, Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the United States demand all passengers to be fingerprinted on arrival.