PASSPORT INDEX
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Passport

South Korea: passport 2026 and visa-free countries

Passport: South Korea. 187 countries and territories without a prior visa, rank 4 of 199. Entry terms and length of stay for every destination as of 4 October 2026.

Destinations by entry terms, 226 in total

  • 138Visa-free
  • 16ETA
  • 33On arrival
  • 20eVisa
  • 19Visa required
Passport · ПаспортBRIDGES INDEX
South Korea
Rank4
No prior visa187
CodeKOR

Passport strength

One of the strongest passports in the world 4

Rank 4 of 199. 187 of 226 destinations without a prior visa. Key countries this passport opens without a visa: 21.

Schengen AreaVisa-free90 daysUnited KingdomETA180 daysUnited StatesETA90 daysCanadaETA180 daysAustraliaETA90 daysNew ZealandETA90 daysJapanVisa-free90 daysChinaVisa-free30 daysSingaporeVisa-free90 daysUnited Arab EmiratesVisa-free90 daysTürkiyeVisa-free90 daysThailandVisa-free90 daysIndiaOn arrival30 daysBrazilVisa-free90 daysMexicoVisa-free180 daysIsraelETA90 daysHong KongVisa-free90 daysSouth AfricaVisa-free30 daysIndonesiaOn arrival30 daysArgentinaVisa-free90 daysEgyptOn arrival30 days

Weak spots

Where a visa is needed and what is weaker 39

A prior visa is needed for 39 destinations, electronic or consular. Below are the main ones and the criteria where the passport is weaker. A second passport closes these gaps.

CubaeVisaAfghanistanVisa requiredAlgeriaVisa requiredBenineVisaBhutaneVisaBurkina FasoeVisaCamerooneVisaCayman IslandsVisa required
Taxes10/100up to 49.5%, inheritance tax, worldwide income taxed
Plan B and family0/100dual citizenship not allowed, passes to children
What a second passport opens →

What the passport gives

What a South Korea passport gives

71of 100
rank 44 of 199

Balanced index: all criteria weighted equally. Open sources, licences and method on the index page.

Ranking for your goal →
  • Mobility96187 destinations without a prior visa
  • Stability and rule of law83score 1.13 on a -2.5 to 2.5 scale
  • Quality of life94HDI 0.937
  • Health and longevity9484.3 years life expectancy
  • Education89education index 0.89
  • Taxes10up to 49.5%, inheritance tax, worldwide income taxed
  • US access100E-2 investor visa available, entry with ESTA
  • Plan B and family0dual citizenship not allowed, passes to children

All destinations

Destinations by entry terms 226

The score adds up the first three types: destinations you can travel to without a visa arranged in advance.

Visa-free 138

Entry on your passport

Popular:FranceItalySpainGermanyGreecePortugal
AlbaniaEurope · 90 daysAndorraEurope · 90 daysAngolaAfrica · 30 daysAnguillaCaribbean · 90 daysAntigua and BarbudaCaribbean · 180 daysArgentinaAmericas · 90 daysArmeniaMiddle East · 180 daysArubaCaribbean · 30 daysAustriaEurope · 90 daysAzerbaijanEurope · 30 daysBahamasCaribbean · 90 daysBarbadosCaribbean · 90 daysBelarusEurope · 30 daysBelgiumEurope · 90 daysBelizeAmericas · 90 daysBermudaAmericas · 180 daysBoliviaAmericas · 90 daysBonaire, St. Eustatius and SabaCaribbean · 90 daysBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope · 90 daysBotswanaAfrica · 90 daysBrazilAmericas · 90 daysBritish Virgin IslandsCaribbean · 30 daysBruneiAsia · 30 daysBulgariaEurope · 90 daysChileAmericas · 90 daysChinaAsia · 30 daysColombiaAmericas · 90 daysCook IslandsOceania · 31 daysCosta RicaAmericas · 90 daysCroatiaEurope · 90 daysCuraçaoCaribbean · 90 daysCyprusEurope · 90 daysCzechiaEurope · 90 daysDenmarkEurope · 90 daysDominicaCaribbean · 180 daysDominican RepublicCaribbean · 90 daysEcuadorAmericas · 90 daysEl SalvadorAmericas · 90 daysEstoniaEurope · 90 daysEswatiniAfrica · 30 daysFalkland IslandsAmericasFaroe IslandsEuropeFijiOceania · 120 daysFinlandEurope · 90 daysFranceEurope · 90 daysFrench GuianaAmericasFrench PolynesiaOceaniaFrench West IndiesCaribbeanGeorgiaEurope · 365 daysGermanyEurope · 90 daysGibraltarEuropeGreeceEurope · 90 daysGreenlandEuropeGrenadaCaribbean · 90 daysGuamOceania · 45 daysGuatemalaAmericas · 90 daysGuyanaAmericas · 30 daysHaitiCaribbean · 90 daysHondurasAmericas · 90 daysHong KongAsia · 90 daysHungaryEurope · 90 daysIcelandEurope · 90 daysIrelandEurope · 90 daysItalyEurope · 90 daysJamaicaCaribbean · 90 daysJapanAsia · 90 daysKazakhstanAsia · 30 daysKiribatiOceania · 90 daysKosovoEurope · 90 daysKyrgyzstanAsia · 30 daysLaosAsia · 30 daysLatviaEurope · 90 daysLesothoAfrica · 60 daysLiechtensteinEurope · 90 daysLithuaniaEurope · 90 daysLuxembourgEurope · 90 daysMacaoAsia · 90 daysMalaysiaAsia · 90 daysMaltaEurope · 90 daysMauritiusAfrica · 90 daysMayotteAfricaMexicoAmericas · 180 daysMicronesiaOceania · 30 daysMoldovaEurope · 90 daysMonacoEuropeMongoliaAsia · 90 daysMontenegroEurope · 90 daysMontserratCaribbean · 180 daysMoroccoAfrica · 90 daysNetherlandsEurope · 90 daysNew CaledoniaOceaniaNicaraguaAmericas · 90 daysNiueOceania · 30 daysNorth MacedoniaEurope · 90 daysNorthern Mariana IslandsOceania · 45 daysNorwayEurope · 90 daysOmanMiddle East · 14 daysPanamaAmericas · 90 daysParaguayAmericas · 30 daysPeruAmericas · 90 daysPhilippinesAsia · 30 daysPolandEurope · 90 daysPortugalEurope · 90 daysQatarMiddle East · 90 daysRéunionAfricaRomaniaEurope · 90 daysSan MarinoEurope · 90 daysSão Tomé and PríncipeAfrica · 15 daysSenegalAfrica · 90 daysSerbiaEurope · 90 daysSingaporeAsia · 90 daysSint MaartenCaribbean · 90 daysSlovakiaEurope · 90 daysSloveniaEurope · 90 daysSouth AfricaAfrica · 30 daysSpainEurope · 90 daysSt. HelenaAfricaSt. LuciaCaribbean · 42 daysSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesCaribbean · 90 daysSurinameAmericas · 90 daysSwedenEurope · 90 daysSwitzerlandEurope · 90 daysTaiwanAsia · 90 daysTajikistanAsia · 30 daysThailandAsia · 90 daysTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean · 90 daysTunisiaAfrica · 90 daysTürkiyeEurope · 90 daysTurks and Caicos IslandsCaribbean · 90 daysUkraineEurope · 90 daysUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East · 90 daysUruguayAmericas · 90 daysUzbekistanAsia · 30 daysVanuatuOceania · 120 daysVatican CityEuropeVenezuelaAmericas · 90 daysVietnamAsia · 45 daysZambiaAfrica · 30 days

ETA 16

Authorisation online before travel

Popular:United KingdomUnited StatesIsraelSri LankaAustraliaCanada
American SamoaOceaniaAustraliaOceania · 90 daysCanadaAmericas · 180 daysIsraelMiddle East · 90 daysKenyaAfrica · 90 daysMozambiqueAfrica · 30 daysNew ZealandOceania · 90 daysPalestineMiddle EastPuerto RicoCaribbean · 90 daysRussiaEurope · 60 daysSeychellesAfrica · 90 daysSri LankaAsia · 30 daysSt. Kitts and NevisCaribbean · 90 daysUnited KingdomEurope · 180 daysUnited StatesAmericas · 90 daysUS Virgin IslandsCaribbean · 90 days

On arrival 33

Visa issued at the border

Popular:EgyptIndonesiaMaldivesIndiaSaudi ArabiaTanzania
BahrainMiddle East · 14 daysBangladeshAsia · 30 daysBurundiAfrica · 30 daysCambodiaAsia · 30 daysCape VerdeAfrica · 30 daysComorosAfrica · 45 daysEgyptAfrica · 30 daysEthiopiaAfrica · 90 daysGuinea-BissauAfrica · 90 daysIndiaAsia · 30 daysIndonesiaAsia · 30 daysJordanMiddle East · 30 daysKuwaitMiddle East · 90 daysLebanonMiddle East · 30 daysLiberiaAfrica · 90 daysMadagascarAfrica · 90 daysMalawiAfrica · 30 daysMaldivesAsia · 30 daysMarshall IslandsOceania · 90 daysMyanmarAsia · 28 daysNamibiaAfrica · 90 daysNepalAsia · 90 daysPalauOceania · 30 daysRwandaAfrica · 30 daysSamoaOceania · 90 daysSaudi ArabiaMiddle East · 90 daysSierra LeoneAfrica · 90 daysSolomon IslandsOceania · 90 daysTanzaniaAfrica · 90 daysTimor-LesteAsia · 30 daysTongaOceania · 31 daysTuvaluOceania · 30 daysZimbabweAfrica · 30 days

eVisa 20

Applied for online before travel

Popular:Cuba
BeninAfricaBhutanAsiaBurkina FasoAfricaCameroonAfricaChadAfricaCôte d'IvoireAfricaCubaCaribbeanDjiboutiAfricaDR CongoAfricaEquatorial GuineaAfricaGabonAfricaGhanaAfricaGuineaAfricaMauritaniaAfricaNigeriaAfricaPakistanAsiaPapua New GuineaOceaniaSouth SudanAfricaTogoAfricaUgandaAfrica

Visa required 19

Through a consulate

AfghanistanAsiaAlgeriaAfricaCayman IslandsCaribbeanCentral African RepublicAfricaEritreaAfricaGambiaAfricaIranMiddle EastIraqMiddle EastLibyaAfricaMaliAfricaNauruOceaniaNigerAfricaNorth KoreaAsiaRepublic of the CongoAfricaSomaliaAfricaSudanAfricaSyriaMiddle EastTurkmenistanAsiaYemenMiddle East

How to strengthen the passport

A second citizenship opens the countries where this passport needs a visa. We count the better of the two passports.

Nearby in the ranking

  1. 1Singapore193
  2. 2United Arab Emirates189
  3. 3Japan188
  4. 4South Korea187
  5. 5Sweden186
  6. 6Germany185
  7. 6Luxembourg185
  8. 6Switzerland185

Frequently asked questions

South Korea: how many countries are visa-free?

In the BRIDGES index as of 4 October 2026: 187 of 226 countries and territories, 138 visa-free, 16 with an ETA and 33 with a visa on arrival. That is rank 4 of 199.

South Korea: is a Schengen visa needed?

No. Short trips to Schengen countries need no visa, up to 90 days. Once ETIAS starts, an electronic authorisation will be needed; no launch date has been announced yet.

South Korea → United Kingdom: is a visa needed?

ETA, 180 days. Authorisation online before travel.

South Korea → United States: is a visa needed?

ETA, 90 days. Authorisation online before travel.

South Korea → United Arab Emirates: is a visa needed?

Visa-free, 90 days. Entry on your passport.

How can the list of countries be expanded?

A second citizenship. For example, a passport of Guinea-Bissau adds 12 destinations without a prior visa, Sierra Leone adds 12. We will match a programme to your travel and budget.