Check the allowance for your passport
The official eligibility page lists visa-free allowances by nationality. K-ETA means Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, a pre-travel approval for eligible visa-free visitors. Its validity period does not determine how long you may stay on each visit.
| Allowed stay | Number of listed nationalities |
|---|---|
| 30 days | 36 |
| 60 days | 1 — Lesotho |
| 90 days | 65 |
| 3 months, stated in months | 10 |
| 6 months, stated in months | 1 — Canada |
| A per-visit limit and a combined limit within 180 days | 3 — Kazakhstan, Portugal, Russia |
Ninety days is the commonest allowance by far, which is exactly why treating it as universal causes miscounted stays. Find your own row before you book a long trip.
Some allowances are stated in calendar months
| Nationality | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Canada | 6 months |
| Belgium, Greece, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Surinam, Switzerland | 3 months |
An allowance stated in calendar months is not automatically a fixed number of days. Confirm the departure deadline granted by immigration instead of calculating it by multiplying the number of months by thirty.
Some limits include previous visits
Kazakhstan, Portugal and Russia carry two limits at once: Kazakhstan 30 days in a row and no more than 60 inside any 180; Russia 60 in a row and no more than 90 inside any 180; Portugal 90 in a row and no more than 90 inside any 180. Two short trips can use up the second limit while each one stays inside the first, so on these passports the count carries across visits.
Counting the days
The Korean Embassy in Singapore states the rule that matters: "the period of stay will start to count from the date of entry". Your last permitted day is the one immigration gives you at entry.
For conservative planning, count the landing day as day one. A 90-day count starting June 1 reaches its 90th day on August 29. Confirm your actual permitted stay with immigration before booking near the limit, especially if your allowance is stated in months or includes a rolling window.
The general first-day rule in Civil Code Article 157 is not, by itself, an answer for an individual immigration permission. Keep the admitted departure date in your calendar and leave within that permission.
What a miscount costs
Overstaying can lead to penalties and affect future entry; the consequences depend on the circumstances. Do not assume a short overstay is harmless. “What happens if I overstay in Korea?” explains how to contact immigration if you cannot leave within your permission.
