Visas are not required of visitors in transit or of tourists who do not intend to stay in Korea for more than 15 days and hold confirmed outbound tickets.

After arrival, a residence certificate must be obtained to remain in Korea beyond the initial 60- or 90-day period and this application must be made within 14 days of the expiration of the original period.

Fingerprinting is required the first time the application is made. The application for a Certificate of Alien Registration (CAR) card is made at the Seoul immigration office or at the appropriate district office outside of Seoul. Before visiting, you should call at the Seoul Immigration Office in Mok-dong (tel: +82-2 650-6229) office to prepare several papers in detail.

Nationals of countries with whom Korea has signed a visa waiver agreement usually enter South Korea on the Visa Waiver B-1. They usually stay 3 months on the B-1 and 30 days for B-2 visa.

Business travelers from nations with whom Korea has not signed a visa waiver agreement usually enter on the Visa C-2 or C-3. They are usually allowed to stay 90 days.

Business executives who feel compelled to stay must fill out an application with one of the Immigration Offices.

Short-term business (C-2) visas are available to foreigners who are going to engage in market research, business liaison, on-the-job training, counseling, or who are under contract; or who must conduct pilot operation, installation, repair, and inspection on export-import machines. They can stay up to 90 days.

A short-term visitor (C-3) visa is granted to foreigners who visit Korea for pleasure, transfer, medical treatment, relative-visiting, goodwill match, events, conference, cultural art, training, religious ceremony, academic data-gathering, and for other similar purposes. Profit-making activities are excluded. Foreigners with this visa can stay up to 90 days.

A resident foreigner who temporarily leaves Korea with intention of returning must obtain a re-entry permit when the initial residence registration is made and renewed as necessary, before departure. Failure to do so may result in invalidation of the visa and the serious inconvenience of repeating the entire application process.

Visa waiver agreement

Nationals of the country with a visa waiver agreement with Korea are allowed to enter without visa. Nationals who can avail the visa waiver agreement are:

• officials and diplomats of the Philippines, Uruguay, Iran, Paraguay, Mongolia, Benin, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil;
• whole nationals of Tunisia, Italy, Portugal, Lesotho, Thailand, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Malaysia, Barbados, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Peru, Italy, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Vincent, Trinidad-Tobago, Surinam, Antigua-Barbuda, Nicaragua, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Iceland, Malta, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech, Turkey, Slovak, Rumania, Morocco, Liberia, Israel, Canada;
• nationals of Mexico except for officials and diplomats not included;
• foreigners who visit Korea for the international friendship, pleasure or interest of Korea, etc., and who have obtained entry permits
• foreigners who depart from and return to Korea with a refugee travel document, provided that the validity of their documents has not expired.

Those who may enter Korea with no visa include:

• Foreigners save nationals of the 31 countries that have no diplomatic relations with Korea or produce too many overstayers in Korea with a view to participating in illegal activities, such as unlawful works, drug trafficking, other criminal acts and so on, all allowed to visit Korea for 15 days with no visas;
• Foreigners (nationals of Cuba and Macedonia are not included) who meet the following requirements will be admitted to Korea with no visas and will get a 15-day visa from immigration inspectors upon arrival.

Foreigners able to visit only Cheju island with no visas are:

• Chinese tourist groups made up of more than 10 persons
• Government officials and diplomats holding their official passports and diplomatic passports, respectively, are able to visit Cheju island without visas, on the condition that all of them should use the direct line to Cheju from their own or other countries. Tourist groups need to be invited by designated travel associates and present their manifest and itinerary to Cheju Immigration Office before departing from their own country or other countries.

Those who meet the above requirements can stay 15 days in Cheju without visas. It is possible for them to transit from Kimpo International Airport to Cheju International Airport by way of Kimpo domestic airport.

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CUSTOMS

Visitors are allowed to bring in some commodities for daily use, simple devices necessary for work, 1 liter or less of liquor or one carton of cigarette, or other goods whose unit value is less than 300,000 won.

Visitors must report to the customs office at the Kimpo Airport, if they try to bring in something else the above-described things, and some goods whose unit value exceeds 500,000 won or US$400, e.g., pearl, coral, ivory, other jewelry. For these commercial goods to bring into, the visitor shall pay up to 20% of the price of the good as tax.

If you want to export local artifacts or antiques, you must go to the Arts and Antiques Assessment Office (tel: +82-2 662-0106 or 664-8997), at which its officer will assess it and grant/refuse you to take it out.

Visitors may take as much money into Korea, but must declare to the custom officer at the airport if he has $10,000 or more.

Visitors are prohibited from bringing in or out the following substances and items:

• guns
• gunpowder
• cultural items
• and more than 100 CDs made in Korea

Korea Investment Service Center specifies Customs rules for the following:

1) Goods eligible for duty exemption: furniture, portable radios, video equipment, television sets, household appliances, linen and bedding, chinaware, glassware, silverware, movie and slide projectors, and cameras. (If you prepare an inventory of your household items, you can have prompt Customs clearance.)

2) Goods subject to duty and tax regardless of whether they were used by you or your family abroad are:

• boat and aircraft;
• jewelry, pearls, tortoise shell, coral, amber, and products thereof, where the value of each exceeds 1 million won in Korea;
• automobiles (including motorcycles, motorscooters and three-wheeled vehicles except those made in Korea and used for six months or more)

3) The goods listed below may be introduced duty-free if the number does exceed unit or one set per item:

• Pianos, electric organs, other musical instruments; items whose domestic wholesale value in Korea exceeds 2 million won per unit or per set);
• Electrical sound equipment; items whose domestic wholesale value in Korea exceeds 2 million won per unit or per set;
• Quality furniture and lighting apparatus; items whose domestic wholesale value in Korea exceeds 2 million won per unit or per set.
• Hand-woven rugs fabricated in silk;
• Hunting guns or rifles, refrigerators and freezers, color TV sets;
• Movie cameras, air conditioners (package-type);
• Washing machines and dryers;
• Dish washers and gas oven ranges;
• A unit or set of an article that a household ordinarily uses

4) Goods not eligible for duty exemptions:

• Goods imported as requested by other persons;
• Goods deemed not suitable for personal use or use in a household, e.g. home car, cargo transportation vehicles, broadcasting equipment, karaoke machines for places of amusement, pipe organs;
• Goods construed not suitable as professional equipment, e.g., a grand piano imported by a person who is not a professional musician, or quality cameras for the purpose of professional photography imported by a person who is not an artist-photographer.

Major Customs Clearance Offices
Airport customs +82-2 660-5275 or 660-5533
Seoul Customs +82-2 3438-1061/8
Seoul Kimpo Customs +82-2 665-3100
Pusan Customs +82-51-465-3100
Taegu Customs +82-53-741-3500
Cheju Customs +82-64-741-6321
Kimhae Customs +82-51-972-3100
Inchon Customs +82-32-882-0123

Express Service Firms
Airborne-Freight +82-2 322-5565
DHL +82-2 716-0001
Federal Express +82-2 333-8000
United Parcels Service +82-2 661-1031/5

Forwarders (in customs clearance and transport)
Korea Transport Moving & Storage +82-2 358-5411/6
Ajin Transportation +82-2 538-1612
Cho Yang Transport +82-2 335-2642
Panalpina Korea Ltd +82-2 560-5700
Four Winds +82-2 2236-1909