South Korea is rolling out a raft of visa relaxations targeting travellers from Southeast Asia and China, as it pushes toward an ambitious target of 30 million international visitors in 2026.
Indonesia is among the newest additions to South Korea's visa-free programme, with a pilot scheme now open to group tourists travelling in parties of three or more.
Separately, tourists from 11 countries in China and Southeast Asia who hold prior visit records to South Korea will now be eligible for multiple-entry visas for use within five years.
South Korea will also waive visa fees for group tourists from China, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Cambodia, with the policy set to remain in effect until December 2026.
In addition, Chinese residents from 14 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, and three Vietnamese cities, including Hanoi, who already hold multiple-entry visas will have the validity extended from the current five years to up to 10 years.
South Korea’s automated immigration gates will also expand to cover European Union member state travellers. It is currently available to travellers from 18 nations including Australia, Japan and Singapore.
This latest announcement comes alongside a recent extension of its K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) temporary exemption until end 2026 for 22 countries, including travellers from Singapore, Japan and Australia.