When traveling to South Korea, you’ll usually be required to quarantine yourself for 14 days upon your arrival, but there are also some exceptions in some cases. Since some may not be familiar with South Korean travel restrictions, Ziptoss has made a quick guide for you to follow so you can be prepared when arriving in South Korea’s
Conditions for long-term residents
- In the Korean travel advisory, they announced that travelers are required to have a Covid-19 test within 72 hours before their entry and are required to go through a screening procedure for symptoms.
- People that reside in South Korea have to self-quarantine in their own residence for 14 days unless it is not approved suitable by the Korean authorities.
- Once you arrive at Incheon airport and if no symptoms are detected, you can go to your place of residence by private car, quarantine taxi(70,000 Won), or shuttle(free). Then within 3 days, you can go to the nearest Covid-19 testing center by foot or directly from the airport. Using public transportation is not allowed in the meantime in South Korea’s
- If you have symptoms detected at the airport, you are required to take a Covid-19 test and will have to wait for your test results to be released.
- You will be required to download and fill up a “Self-Diagnosis” application form twice a day. The local administration will also be calling you daily to check on your status while on quarantine.
- You should only leave your place of residence when you need to go to the Covid-19 testing center unless there is an emergency.
- Smokers should find an alternative as it is not allowed to smoke inside quarantine facilities in South Korea’s
- The local administration will assess a person after his/her 14-day quarantine, and if the person might still be at risk, they might be required to have a 3rd PCR test.
Conditions for short-term travelers(non-residents)
- Short-term visitors(foreigners or Koreans) will be required to stay in a designated quarantine facility by the government if their place of residence is not suitable for quarantine. The quarantine facilities will be randomly assigned and these government facilities should be paid at your own cost(around 1,680,000 Won per person).
- The Facility Quarantine Agreement should be signed and submitted to the airlines.
- Visitors will be tested automatically upon arriving at their quarantine facilities.
- Transportation from the airport to the quarantine facility is provided in South Korea’s
- You will be required to download and fill up a “Self-Diagnosis” application form twice a day. The local administration will also be calling you daily to check on your status while on quarantine.
- Food and other essential items will be provided per person.
- You are only allowed to leave the quarantine facility when there is an emergency.
- Smokers should find an alternative as it is not allowed to smoke inside quarantine facilities.
- The local administration will assess a person after his/her 14-day quarantine, and if the person might still be at risk, they might be required to have a 3rd PCR test. If a person is not at risk, then the 3rd PCR test will not be necessary.
Exemptions
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Vaccinated or not, residents(Korean or foreign) can apply for a “Quarantine Exemption Certificate” before their trip.
This certificate is for those who have essential purposes such as business, academics, etc. This process can only be done by C-level executives who can justify the signature of a contract or any kind of action done that is considered to be essential or urgent.
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Koreans and Foreigners that are fully vaccinated in Korea and got negative Covid-19 test results upon arrival.
You must be fully vaccinated 2 weeks before your departure from South Korea. If you are fully vaccinated and if your Covid-19 test result is negative, you are exempted from quarantine, but you are required to self-assess if you have symptoms within 14 days.
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If you are fully vaccinated from abroad, you can apply for a quarantine exemption.
You can enter South Korea if you have been fully vaccinated in another country, you can apply for a quarantine exemption. Here are some guidelines provided by the Korean Ministry of Health:
- Approved vaccines are the following: Pfizer, Janssen, Moderna, AstraZeneca, CovidShield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. They should also have completed the required number of doses in the same country and arrival in South Korea should be 2 weeks after the last shot.
- You can only travel to Korea if our purpose is important business, academic, humanitarian/public official visits, visit to direct family, or a funeral.
- The quarantine exemption letter is valid for one month only. You should arrive in South Korea within one month after receiving the response to your quarantine exemption request.
- Falsified certificates can lead to 10 years in prison, a 10-Million Won fine, damage claims, and even a suspension from the country.
