TGDo you need a visa for South Korea in 2026
South Korea requires a visa — the electronic K-ETA authorisation. How long you may stay, who is exempt and when a consular visa is needed.
The short answer: yes. The visa for South Korea is called K-ETA and is arranged online before departure. Without it you will not be allowed to board — it is checked at the airline desk, not at the border.
Formally K-ETA is an electronic travel authorisation, and the entry stamp goes into your passport at the border. For a traveller the difference is only in the word: it has to be arranged in advance, and without approval the trip does not happen.
How long you may stay
K-ETA allows Russian citizens up to 60 days per trip. There is a second limit people remember less often: no more than 90 days in total within any 180 days. Two months there, a trip home and straight back for another two will not work.
The rule is the same for a holiday, visiting friends or a business meeting. Work, study and long-term treatment are not covered — those require a consular visa.
Who does not need K-ETA
- Travellers aged 17 and under
- Travellers aged 65 and over
- Anyone who already holds another valid Korean visa
The age exemption has applied since 2024 and concerns the authorisation only: a passport is required at any age.
What is checked before departure
The first check is at the airline desk, not at the border: without an approved K-ETA you will not be issued a boarding pass. Passport control in Korea is the second stage.
- The same passport the authorisation was issued for
- A ticket out of the country
- The address where you will be staying — it goes in the form and may be asked for at the border
An approved K-ETA does not guarantee entry: the final decision rests with the border officer. That is standard for any country, but worth remembering here — refusals at the Korean border do happen.
When K-ETA is not enough
If the trip is longer than 60 days, or the purpose goes beyond tourism — employment, study, long-term treatment, joining family — you need a regular consular visa. It is issued by an embassy and has no electronic version.
Everything else is covered by K-ETA. The form is short, but the details must match your passport exactly, and processing takes up to 72 hours — the very hours before departure, when it is too late to fix anything. We check the data, fill the form in and file it for you.
