[Updated: Oct 9, 2020 3:23 pm]
Open for citizens: YES
Open for foreigners: partial
Quarantine: YES
- Visa or additional documentation is required for passengers in transit for more than 24 hours, or if the passenger leaves the international transit area of the airport.
- This does not apply to nationals of Korea (South).
- Nationals of Mongolia, Russia and Thailand are not permitted to transit through Korea (South) for more than 24 hours.
- Visa or additional documentation is required for passengers holding ordinary passports issued by Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates or Uruguay.
- Visa or additional documentation is required for nationals of Japan.
- Visa or additional documentation is required for holders of diplomatic and service passports issued by Indonesia.
- Passengers are not permitted to enter Korea (South) if holding a visa issued before 5th April 2020.
- This does not apply to residents of Korea (South) and passengers holding long term visas or short term employment visas (C-4).
- Nationals of Russia are not permitted to transit through Korea (South) if travelling from or to Russia.
- Nationals of Mongolia are not permitted to transit through Korea (South) if travelling from or to Mongolia.
- Passengers who have visited or transited through Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Philippines or Uzbekistan in the past 14 days may be refused entry unless holding a negative PCR test result.
- This does not apply to nationals of Korea (South).
- Passengers who are permitted to enter, must meet the following conditions:
o Passengers are required to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival,
o All passengers must complete a “Travel Record Declaration” form,
o Passengers, including nationals and residents of Korea (South), who have accommodation available to self-quarantine must install the “Self-quarantine Safety Protection App”,
o Passengers who do not have a place to stay will be provided accommodation for the duration of the passenger’s quarantine. They must hold a completed “Agreement to Facility Quarantine” form consenting to this, have access to at least 1,400,000 KRW per person for expenses, and install the “Self-diagnosis Mobile App”.
*****International Restrictions:
Foreign nationals who have been in Hubei province in China within the previous 14 days are not permitted to enter South Korea. **Transiting in South Korea: Transit passengers will receive a temperature check on arrival in Korea. Symptomatic individuals will be subject to a COVID-19 test and hospitalisation if found positive. Passengers who do not show symptoms and/or test negative may continue their journey. Transit passengers at Seoul Incheon Airport require a ticket/boarding pass for their onward flight to their final destination. They should confirm with the airline(s) before departure that their bags have been checked through to their final destination (as transit passengers are not able to collect and re-check in baggage on arrival in Incheon Airport). Transit hotels are available in both Terminals 1 and 2 at Incheon Airport. All arrivals – regardless of nationality and length of stay – are required to be tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) and to undergo quarantine for 14 days. All individuals regardless of nationality who show coronavirus symptoms on arrival will be tested. Those who test positive will be isolated and treated at a hospital or community treatment centre. For those not showing symptoms on arrival, Korean nationals and long term foreign visitors with an Alien Registration Card and Korean residence may self-quarantine at home. Arrivals from the USA and Europe must receive a test within three days; arrivals from elsewhere must receive a test within 14 days. All other foreign short-term travellers must quarantine at a government-designated facility for 14 days on arrival. Arrivals from the USA and Europe will be tested on entry before transferring to the quarantine facility; arrivals from elsewhere will move to the quarantine facility and be tested within 14 days. Individuals are required to pay a daily charge of around 100,000KRW while in government quarantine facilities. Individuals testing positive on arrival may spend over a month in hospital/community treatment centres before successfully testing negative and being discharged. If you display symptoms or return a positive test result for COVID-19, you must comply with self-quarantine and treatment instructions issued by the Korean authorities. Failure to do so could result in deportation, the revocation of visas or residence permits and an entry ban, and you may be held liable for economic losses incurred by further transmission of the virus. The Ministry of Justice has made clear that this policy applies to foreign residents as well as short-term visitors. You can find more information on Korean arrival procedures on the Government of the Republic of Korea website [http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/baroView.do?brdId=11&brdGubun=111&dataGubun=&ncvContSeq=&contSeq=&board_id=] There are very limited exemptions from the self-quarantine system for important – primarily COVID-19 related – business, humanitarian or academic purposes. Those with an exemption will still be tested for COVID-19 on arrival, and will need to participate with an active monitoring system via regular calls with a health expert and a specialised mobile App. Make sure you have with you a mobile telephone with the roaming function enabled, and/or the telephone number of a friend, relative or contact who can update the authorities daily on your state of health. A hotel telephone number will not be accepted. Immigration authorities will undertake a test call before travellers leave the airport, and any individual unable to verify their contact details may be denied entry to South Korea.