Entering Korea in 2026: K-ETA Exemption and the e-Arrival Card at a Glance

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We sum up how long German citizens can enter South Korea for short stays without a K-ETA, and how the electronic arrival card, the e-Arrival Card, works. Plus: timing, costs and who doesn't need a card. ━━━━━━━━━━ 🇩🇪 Who does the K-ETA exemption apply to? The temporary exemption from the K-ETA electronic travel authorization has been extended by one year. It runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026, according to the Korean Embassy in Austria. According to the IHK Regensburg, German citizens can enter South Korea without a K-ETA for short stays under 90 days until the end of 2026. The sources we have explicitly mention only German citizens. They say nothing about other nationalities, for example from Austria or Switzerland. 👉 For you: If you're German and stay less than 90 days, you don't need a K-ETA until the end of 2026. If you're Austrian or Swiss, ask the responsible embassy how it works for you. ━━━━━━━━━━ ⚠️ From 2027, the K-ETA may be required again The IHK Regensburg writes that, as things stand, the K-ETA may be required again from January 1, 2027. The sources don't say whether the exemption will be extended again after that. So this is still open. 👉 For you: If you're planning a trip for 2027, check the current status with the Korean Embassy before booking. ━━━━━━━━━━ 📱 Instead of paper: the e-Arrival Card Instead of the paper card, there is an electronic arrival card, the e-Arrival Card. The Ministry of Justice of Korea provides it at www.e-arrivalcard.go.kr. You can fill it out on a PC, on your phone or via QR code. The e-Arrival Card is free. Use only the official sites; the e-Arrival Card costs nothing. 👉 For you: Use only the official sites for the e-Arrival Card, for example www.e-arrivalcard.go.kr. It costs nothing. ━━━━━━━━━━ ⏰ The right timing You can submit the e-Arrival Card 3 days before arrival at the earliest. Korean time applies. If you don't enter Korea within 72 hours of submitting, the card becomes invalid. Then you have to fill it out again. 👉 For you: If you don't enter Korea within 72 hours of submitting, you have to fill out the card again. ━━━━━━━━━━ ✅ Who doesn't need an arrival card According to the Ministry of Justice of Korea, among others, these people don't need an arrival card: foreigners already registered in Korea (Residence Card) and people with a valid K-ETA. The words "among others" show that there may be further exceptions. The sources don't say which ones. Despite the exemption, you can apply for the K-ETA voluntarily. Then you don't have to fill out an arrival card, according to the Korean Embassy in Austria. However, the fee isn't refunded. 👉 For you: With a Residence Card, you don't need an e-Arrival Card. If you apply for the K-ETA voluntarily, you pay a fee that isn't refunded. ━━━━━━━━━━ 🔗 Sources Justizministerium Korea – e-Arrival Card https://www.moj.go.kr/bbs/immigration/224/592036/artclView.do Koreanische Botschaft in Österreich – Verlängerung der K-ETA-Befreiung 2026 https://at.mofa.go.kr/at-en/brd/m_8362/view.do?seq=760066 IHK Regensburg – Einreise nach Südkorea weiterhin ohne K-ETA möglich https://www.ihk.de/regensburg/fachthemen/international/nachrichten-international/einreise-nach-suedkorea-weiterhin-ohne-k-eta-moeglich-6942026 ━━━━━━━━━━ 💬 Have you ever used the e-Arrival Card or applied for the K-ETA voluntarily? How did it go for you? 📲 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lebeninkorea_en/ 📸 Photos: Todd Jiang, Olivllr Wang, Moon Kim, chansu shin, Marek Piwnicki, Marissa Lewis (Unsplash); Seoul Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)