South Korea Extends K-ETA Waiver—Finnish Travellers Remain Exempt Until End-2026

In a holiday-season boost for Nordic business and leisure travel, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice confirmed on 26 December 2025 that the temporary waiver of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation (K-ETA) has been extended to 31 December 2026 for visitors from 67 visa-exempt countries, including Finland. The decision means Finns can continue to enter South Korea for stays of up to 90 days without completing the pre-arrival K-ETA form or paying the ₩10,000 (≈€7) processing fee.

Originally introduced in 2021, K-ETA became mandatory for most Schengen nationals in 2023 but was suspended for key tourist markets in 2024 to accelerate post-pandemic recovery. Seoul’s data show a 22 percent rise in arrivals from Finland in 2025 after the waiver, with average business-traveller spend recovering to 96 percent of its 2019 level. Korea Tourism Organization officials say keeping Finland on the exemption list supports growing direct cargo and passenger capacity between Helsinki and Seoul operated by Finnair and Korean Air.



For Finnish corporations, the extension removes an administrative step for staff rotations to Samsung, Hyundai and Korean biotech partners. Mobility managers should still ensure travellers hold passports valid for six months and retain return tickets, as standard immigration checks remain. Travellers seeking perks such as e-Arrival Card pre-clearance can optionally apply for K-ETA, but it is no longer compulsory.

The waiver’s longevity is not guaranteed beyond 2026; Seoul will review visitor-screening needs once Europe’s own ETIAS authorisation becomes mandatory in 2027. In the meantime, Finnish event planners eyeing Busan’s 2026 World Expo bid and Pyeongchang’s growing convention sector can market “paperwork-free” entry as a selling point.

Finnish nationals should also note that South Korea still enforces biometric fingerprinting on arrival and a mandatory travel-health questionnaire. Airlines may deny boarding to passengers lacking a completed Q-code form, so HR briefings should include the latest health-entry links.