Visa Requirement for S. Korea

[tango223]

I googled the question and the answer was Yes for US. Citizens.......but I had a question whether it applies to cruising to S. Korea from Japan for US Citizen. Will an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) Visa be required ?  I don't see a notice from the cruise company for any visas necessary.

Thank you in advance for help with this question.

[USN59-79]

We are scheduled for S. Korea this April on the Westerdam.  I plan to wait until at least February before I will look into ETA or visa requirements.  I think the odds are that they will not be required at that time for U.S. citizens on a cruise.

[USN59-79]

It is interesting that although the Westerdam will stop in Korea this March and April, HAL doesn't say a word about the K-ETA on its website or on our cruise documentation.  A Canadian person on the March 13 Roll Call says his TA talked to Lisa in HAL Documentation Dept. and was told that the K-ETA was used for air travel and not required for cruise ships.  I called HAL today and got an email from Felipe in the same department and was told that it is required, the cost is less than 10 USD per person and given a link to apply.  So two CC members contacted two HAL employees in the same department and got two entirely different answers.  Think I will wait a couple of months and see what the answer is then.

[Move]

any update as we are also travelling to Sth Korea in March 23

[ringers0815]

21 hours ago, Move said:

any update as we are also travelling to Sth Korea in March 23

We will be there in March on a Princess cruises. I messaged the help center of the K-ETA web site asking if we needed an ETA for a cruise stop. They responded to ask Princess if they would be handling this for all passengers or if we needed to apply on our own.  I then called Princess and spoke to several persons. No one seems to know. The final person I spoke to said he did not think we needed an ETA because we were there for less than 24 hours but suggested I speak to Visa Central, the visa service that Princess recommends. I phoned Visa Central and they said that yes we needed an ETA even for a short cruise stop but they did not know if Princess would be applying for all passengers.  I have also sent an email to the S. Korean embassy in Canada asking them if we need an ETA. On their web site they say we need one if arriving by international flight. So I asked them if we need them for a cruise stop. If I hear back from them I will post here. 

[Move]

thx. it would be good if the cruise companies got their act together and tell passengers what they need to know. We are on Oceania and likewise no information.

[ringers0815]

The embassy replied that we need to apply for a K-ETA even for a cruise stop. I just find it bizarre that there is no information from Princess on this requirement. I have another cruise booked with them for Australia and they do indicate that we need to apply for an ETA for Australia. But nothing about South Korea for our upcoming cruise.

[ringers0815]

I downloaded the K-ETA app and applied for the ETA today. It was approved within 30 to 45 min. The most difficult part was figuring out what to put for the address where I will be staying (as the system requires an address with postal code). I contacted the help center again and they told me to ask the cruise company what port we would be using then either find the exact address of the port in their system or find an address close to the port (as, according to them, not all the addresses are in the system). Once that is done you enter the name of the port, name of the ship on the next address line and finally the phone number of the ship on the next line. So a bit of work but once I had all that info it was fairly straightforward.

[skurvish]

Probably 95% of the passengers on these cruises to not use CC and therefore would not know of this issue. If the cruise lines are not notifying us of a visa requirement then they must be dealing with it on our behalf. If this was actually happening and 95% of the pax were denied entry it would be all over the news and social media. This is not the cruise lines first rodeo. 

[ringers0815]

I also thought that Princess must handle it for passengers since they do not have any info on it under "important notices" in the booking information. But when I called Princess they had no information and suggested I call the visa organization they recommend who, in turn, told me I had to apply. Since this is a new requirement (in place since Sept 2022 for Jeju) and cruise lines are only now going back to that part of the world, I did not want to get a notice at the last minute that this was required. Better safe than sorry.

[USN59-79]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:24 AM, ringers0815 said:

I also thought that Princess must handle it for passengers since they do not have any info on it under "important notices" in the booking information. But when I called Princess they had no information and suggested I call the visa organization they recommend who, in turn, told me I had to apply. Since this is a new requirement (in place since Sept 2022 for Jeju) and cruise lines are only now going back to that part of the world, I did not want to get a notice at the last minute that this was required. Better safe than sorry.

Keep in mind that the "visa organization they recommend" CIBT makes their money by charging you a fairly large fee to obtain a visa or in this case a K-EBT.  It costs less than $9. if you go online and get your own.  However, CIBT charges $60 per person to get it for you plus the cost of the electronic visa.  So of course they told you you had to apply (thru them).  Since it takes less than 24 hours for you to apply online and get the K-EBT, I plan to wait until a month or less before the cruise before I will apply for it.

[charlie murphy]

15 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Keep in mind that the "visa organization they recommend" CIBT makes their money by charging you a fairly large fee to obtain a visa or in this case a K-EBT.  It costs less than $9. if you go online and get your own.  However, CIBT charges $60 per person to get it for you plus the cost of the electronic visa.  So of course they told you you had to apply (thru them).  Since it takes less than 24 hours for you to apply online and get the K-EBT, I plan to wait until a month or less before the cruise before I will apply for it.

thanks for the info.  could you please expand a bit on the process to obtain a visa and need for the Visa. This is new to me. I did not realize this may be necessary for our cruise. Our planned cruise does have a stop in Jeju. I did go through the process of obtaining Russian visas when we did a Baltic sea cruise so that we could tour independently from organized tours a few years back. do i need the same for S. Korea  

[ringers0815]

16 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Keep in mind that the "visa organization they recommend" CIBT makes their money by charging you a fairly large fee to obtain a visa or in this case a K-EBT.  It costs less than $9. if you go online and get your own.  However, CIBT charges $60 per person to get it for you plus the cost of the electronic visa.  So of course they told you you had to apply (thru them).  Since it takes less than 24 hours for you to apply online and get the K-EBT, I plan to wait until a month or less before the cruise before I will apply for it.

I did not use the visa service, I downloaded the app and applied for the ETA on my own. Fairly easy (once I had figured out the port address) and got the approved ETA about 40 min after submitting my application.

[skurvish]

17 hours ago, ringers0815 said:

I did not use the visa service, I downloaded the app and applied for the ETA on my own. Fairly easy (once I had figured out the port address) and got the approved ETA about 40 min after submitting my application.

Same here. I used the web version. My thinking is that for about $10 I have peace of mind. If the cruise ship does indeed obtained one for me I have lost $10, if they don't I am not standing in a long line at the pier trying to buy one.

[Move]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:43 PM, skurvish said:

Same here. I used the web version. My thinking is that for about $10 I have peace of mind. If the cruise ship does indeed obtained one for me I have lost $10, if they don't I am not standing in a long line at the pier trying to buy one.

We called up consulate in Sydney and yes you need the visa.  Easy online (as someone also mentioned, you need to know the port address). Cheap, quick and easy.

[WESTEAST]

We checked the Canadian Travel Advisory site and it states no visa required just a valid passport plus: "Canadians must also be in possession of an Korea Electronic Travel Authority (K-ETA) to visit South Korea. Ensure that you travel with the same passport used to apply for your K-ETA" with a link to the site. The Canadian Advisory also identifies that foreigners must register their biometrics (fingerprints and facial scan) at their port of entry as well as they will screen your body temperature. 

 

[DCGuy64]

I went ahead and did my own, just to be on the safe side. Took a bit of patience, but it's done.

[ROCruiser]

We applied and approved within an hour today. I have read somewhere that you cannot board the ship without the K-ETA, so just to have a peace of mind for $8.77. 

 

[silkismom]

Could someone post the K-ETA website?

[skurvish]

https://www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/apply/index.do

 

[silkismom]

Thank you, I saved it, if the cruise line decides we need it for their shore excursions, we'll have it. 

[silkismom]

Just got this via my TA from Silversea:

Republic of Korea -  K-ETA (Korean Electronic Travel Authorization) The K-ETA requirement for visa exempt nationals is waived when arriving and departing Korea by ship as a port of call.  If you are a visa exempt national, and you are flying in to the Republic of Korea you must obtain a K-ETA (Korean Travel Authorization) prior to travel. If your nationality is not on the Visa Exempt list below:  Please visit the Republic of Korea Visa Portal, and use the Visa Navigator to find out your nationalities specific entry requirements https://www.visa.go.kr/openPage.do?MENU_ID=10101  Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa Americas:  Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Commonwealth of Dominica, Costa Rica, Dominica Rep, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela  Asia-Pacific: Australia, Brunei, China P.R.(Hong Kong), China P.R.(Macao SAR Travel Permit), China P.R.(Macao), Fiji, Japan, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand , Tonga, Tuvalu Europe:  Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Serbia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, UK-British Citizen (GBR), UK-British Dependent Territories Citizen (GBD), UK-British National Overseas (GBN), UK-British Overseas Citizen (GBO), UK-British Protected Person (GBP), UK-British Subject (GBS) Middle East:  Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, U.A.E Sincerely, Silversea

 

 

 

Monaco	+377 9770 2424	The Americas	+1-800-722-9955
Europe	+49 69 2222 12283	United Kingdom	+44 844 251 0837
Asia	+61 2 9255 0600	Australia & New Zealand	+61 2 9255 0600

Silversea.com | View privacy policy

[mh11553]

Hi! Bunch of us will take the Diamond Princess from Japan with 1 stop in Busan, Korea. I have been getting time outs after I clicked the Make Payment, the K-eta help desk kept saying it was my own network and computer problem in the last few days. I trued both web and download version for the app's, on few laptop and smartphone devices with no success. Can someone shed some lights if the Princess cruise would handle the K-eta on the ship or the ship passengers will be waived? Seems like the last blog said Silversea said the passengers are wauved, at tleast for Siversea passengers. Sorry for the long note.

[charlie murphy]

this is what I found:

 

Q16. I want to travel to Jeju Island. Do I need to get a K-ETA? A. No. Those who wish to travel directly only to Jeju Island do not need to get a K-ETA. If the traveler wishes to visit other places in Korea after visiting Jeju Island, that person needs to get a K-ETA before entry.

 

this is the source: "FAQ Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA)" (210422 K-ETA FAQ_(Eng).pdf}

our cruise only ports in Jeju, So my anxiety about the K-ETA is over and I am not planning to look further or sweat it out any longer based on the recent post and this well sources information. 

for other ports I don't see anything. sorry. 

 

[charlie murphy]

correction and retractions! 

it was brought to my attention that there was a revision to the information i found on the web, Darn web browsing! 

i sent a request request to K-ETA

Dear Inquirer,

Thank you for your interest in K-ETA.

Regarding your inquiry as to whether you are required to apply for K-ETA, please find the answer as below:

Please refer the latest FAQ at the official K-ETA website (www.k-eta.go.kr) or mobile App (K-ETA). Q16. states ’Yes, even if you want to visit Jeju Island, you must obtain K-ETA approval before boarding the plane or ship’.

The K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) is a travel authorization that foreign nationals need to obtain in advance when they want to enter the Republic of Korea visa-free for tour, visiting relatives, participating in events or meetings, business, and/or other similar reasons (other than profit-making activities). Under one of those purposes, the nationals whose nationality is eligible for K-ETA are required to obtain the approval before boarding the flight or vessel to the Republic of Korea.

 

First, please contact the cruise ship or travel agency to confirm whether you need to apply for K-ETA for your excursion.

If you need to apply for K-ETA, please enter the address and contact number of the port of arrival.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Best Regards,

K-ETA Center

 

kinda clear? 

1. so if one did not get the K-ETA BEFORE boarding flight or ship then what and how could it occur once on board

2. if you need K-ETA why would you need to contact the TA or ship to see if you need to apply for a K-ETA for a particular excursion.

 

will some passages be stuck on the ship in port? I would not think so. 

 

well thank to all who have come before me and laid out the process so well , thank you.