The Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) is an online travel authorization issued by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea for visa-free foreign visitors from 112 eligible nations. Once approved, your K-ETA is valid for 3 years (or until your passport expires) for multiple entries, and holders enjoy the added benefit of being exempt from submitting an arrival card upon landing at Incheon (ICN), Gimpo (GMP), or Busan (PUS).

Travelers aged 17 and under or 65 and older are exempt from mandatory K-ETA registration, unless they voluntarily apply to skip the arrival card. Additionally, South Korea operates a temporary K-ETA exemption for 22 select nationalities (including the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and Schengen countries) through December 31, 2026; travelers from those countries may still voluntarily obtain a K-ETA for expedited arrival clearance without an arrival card.

The official K-ETA web form enforces an unusually strict maximum file size of 100 KB and maximum dimensions of 700x700 pixels for the facial photograph, alongside a mandatory South Korean road-name postal address lookup. When you apply through NomadicMart, our system automatically compresses and crops your photo to exact K-ETA specifications and translates your hotel name into its official Korean road-name address and 5-digit postcode.

No private agency or third-party facilitator can guarantee K-ETA approval. All authorization decisions rest solely with the Korea Immigration Service and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea. NomadicMart is an independent commercial concierge service not affiliated with the Government of South Korea or k-eta.go.kr.

Yes. Because a K-ETA is valid for 3 years across multiple trips, your accommodation address in South Korea and contact details can be updated prior to each subsequent trip without re-applying. However, if your passport number, full name, nationality, or date of birth changes, you must apply for a new K-ETA.