What happens, in order
You come off the aircraft, follow signs to 입국심사 / Immigration, and join the 외국인 / Foreigners queue. When you reach the desk:
- You hand over your passport. Have any required arrival declaration ready as well.
- The officer checks it against the screen while you place both index fingers on a small glass scanner, one hand at a time or both together depending on the device.
- A camera at eye height takes your facial photograph. You are asked to remove a hat and glasses; masks come off for this moment.
- The officer may ask about your visit and travel plans.
- The officer returns your passport, which may not receive a stamp.
Allow time for both the queue and the inspection; the length of the interview varies.
The biometrics — exactly what is taken
The requirement is in 출입국관리법 제12조의2, the Immigration Act's article on "생체정보" (biometric information), and the detail is in the Enforcement Rule, Article 19-3 (시행규칙 제19조의3), which is unusually specific. It requires the fingerprints of both index fingers (양쪽 집게손가락) and facial information, taken through the device the officer designates.
It also writes down the fallback, which is worth knowing if you have a scar, a bandage or a missing finger: where an index finger cannot be read, the rule prescribes the order to try instead — thumb, middle finger, ring finger, little finger. This is a routine, anticipated situation with a written procedure, not an incident.
This routine procedure collects two index fingerprints and a facial photograph. The data is held and managed under Korea’s 개인정보 보호법 (Personal Information Protection Act) by the Ministry of Justice (법무부).
Who does not give biometrics. Article 12-2 lists three exemptions: anyone under 17, people entering to perform the business of a foreign government or an international organisation together with their accompanying family, and a further category the Presidential Decree may exempt in the interest of friendly relations, cultural exchange or economic activity. Children under 17 are exempt from this biometric requirement.
What happens if you refuse. Article 12-2(2) is blunt: an immigration officer may refuse entry to a foreign national who does not provide biometrics. Ask the officer for assistance if you cannot complete the scan. (A separate rule, Article 38, covers registered long-term residents and is not a visitor's concern.)
What the officer asks, and why
The questions are not idle. The Immigration Act, Article 12(3) (출입국관리법 제12조제3항) sets out four things an officer must be satisfied of before granting entry:
- Your passport is valid, and your visa is valid where one is required.
- Your travel authorisation is valid, where one is required.
- Your purpose of entry matches your status of stay.
- A period of stay has been fixed, and you are not subject to an entry ban.
Article 12(4) then says the officer may refuse entry if the traveller cannot demonstrate those things. The burden sits with you, which is exactly why questions get asked — and the Enforcement Decree, Article 15(1) (시행령 제15조제1항) states the duty in terms: an arriving foreign national submits their passport and arrival information and shall answer questions.
Questions may include the following:
| The question | What it is testing | Have ready |
|---|---|---|
| "What is the purpose of your visit?" | Purpose matches status | "Tourism" — one word is enough |
| "Where are you staying?" | That you have somewhere to be | The hotel name and address, on your phone or on paper |
| "How long will you stay?" | Within your permitted period | A number of days, and a return date |
| "Are you travelling alone?" | Group and family consistency | Who is with you |
| "What do you do?" | Corroborates purpose | Your job, in one phrase |
Answer accurately and clearly. Give the full accommodation address, including when you are staying with a friend. An offline copy of the booking confirmation can help you provide the address accurately.
The entry-ban grounds themselves are in Article 11 (제11조) and are what you would expect: certain infectious-disease and narcotics cases, weapons, people considered likely to harm public safety or order, people removed from Korea within the last five years.
The automated gates — who can actually use them
There are two different things called automated immigration in Korea, and confusing them is why the answers online contradict each other.
Arriving. Enforcement Decree Article 15(4) (시행령 제15조제4항) opens the automated entry gates to registered foreign residents, and separately to nationals of countries that have agreed reciprocal automated immigration with Korea, aged 17 and over. That list has grown fast. The Ministry of Justice (법무부) expanded it to 42 countries and regions on 16 March 2026, up from 18.
The 18 already in were Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Mexico, Czechia, the United Kingdom, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand. The March 2026 addition brought in 19 further EU members — Greece, Denmark, Latvia, Romania, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Malta, Belgium, Bulgaria, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ireland, Estonia, Austria, Croatia, Cyprus and Poland — plus four non-EU Schengen states (Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Iceland) and Canada.
Leaving. Eligibility for automated departure is different from eligibility on arrival. Since 10 July 2019, a short-term visitor aged 17 or over who gave fingerprints and a facial photograph on the way in can use the automated departure gates with no registration at all — at Incheon, Gimhae, Gimpo, Jeju and Daegu airports and Busan port. The prints you gave on arrival are the enrolment. People excluded are those who never gave biometrics, anyone under a departure ban, and overstayers.
So the biometric step at arrival is not only a check on you. The recorded biometrics can help establish eligibility for the automated departure process.
Why there is no stamp in your passport
Enforcement Decree Article 15(3) (시행령 제15조제3항) requires the officer to stamp the passport or issue an entry slip recording your status and period of stay — but its proviso allows both to be omitted where the status and period can be confirmed by other means. In practice that is now the norm, and an automated gate omits the stamp outright under paragraph 5.
A blank page is not an error and does not mean you were not admitted. If you specifically want a stamp — some travellers collect them, and a few employers ask for one — ask at the desk before you walk away, and use the staffed counter rather than the gate.
If you are asked to step aside
Ask the officer why further examination is required and what procedure applies. Additional questioning does not automatically mean that you have received a conditional entry permit.
Article 13 (제13조) provides for 조건부 입국허가 — a conditional entry permit. It is used in three situations: you cannot presently satisfy the document requirement but plausibly can within a short time; the officer suspects an entry-ban ground or that your purpose does not match your status and considers special examination necessary; or the office otherwise thinks a conditional permit is appropriate.
Enforcement Decree Article 16 (시행령 제16조) puts a hard ceiling on it: up to 72 hours, extendable only within that same limit. If the requirements are then met, you go through normal inspection and — importantly — your entry date is backdated to the day the conditional permit was issued, so those days count towards your permitted stay. Article 13(2) also allows a deposit of up to ₩10 million to be required, a provision aimed at cases far removed from an ordinary tourist.
The 72-hour provision concerns a conditional entry permit. It is not a general time limit for every form of questioning or detention. Separately, refusal of entry in a case the office considers significant must be reported to the Minister of Justice without delay under Enforcement Decree Article 15(6) (시행령 제15조제6항) — there is oversight above the desk.
If something goes wrong, or you need to ask in your own language
The Ministry of Justice (법무부) Immigration Contact Center on 1345 is the line for immigration questions: 20 languages, weekdays 09:00–22:00, but after 18:00 only Korean, English and Chinese are staffed. Dial 1345 within Korea. For calls from abroad, use the international contact details on the centre’s website.
Practical preparation, in one list
- Keep your passport accessible.
- Save the name and address of your first night’s accommodation so you can read it offline.
- Keep your return or onward travel confirmation accessible.
- Remove your hat, glasses or mask when instructed for the photograph.
- Children under 17 are exempt from the routine fingerprint requirement.
- If your index fingers are damaged, say so — the rule already anticipates it.
- Currency declarations are handled by Customs after immigration. Answer any immigration officer’s questions accurately as well.
