South Korea’s Ministry of Justice confirmed late on 26 December that the temporary suspension of its Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation (K-ETA) will run until 31 December 2026. The extension means Finnish passport-holders—together with nationals of 66 other visa-exempt countries—can continue to enter South Korea for business or leisure stays of up to 90 days without completing the online K-ETA form or paying the ₩10,000 (≈€7) fee.
Originally made mandatory for most Schengen nationals in 2023, K-ETA was waived in 2024 to turbo-charge post-pandemic tourism. Seoul says arrivals from Finland jumped 22 % in 2025, with average corporate-traveller spend back to 96 % of 2019 levels. The latest extension, timed ahead of the busy Lunar-New-Year season, aims to lock in that recovery and support Busan’s bid to host the 2026 World Expo.
![South Korea Extends K-ETA Waiver, Keeping Travel Paperwork-Free for Finns Until End-2026]()
For Finnish companies, the decision removes a small but annoying administrative step. Employee trips to Samsung’s Suwon campus or to Pyeongchang convention venues can be booked without waiting for pre-clearance. Travel-managers, however, should remember that South Korea still collects fingerprints on arrival and requires a separate digital Q-code health questionnaire—airlines may deny boarding if the form is missing.
The waiver is not open-ended. Seoul will re-evaluate visitor-screening once Europe’s own ETIAS travel authorisation launches in late 2026; a dual-system scenario could see K-ETA reinstated for reciprocity. Firms with high travel volumes may therefore want to monitor policy signals and keep template K-ETA forms ready for quick reactivation.
Practically, Finnish citizens need only a biometric passport with six months’ validity. Visa runners beware: stays over 90 days or back-to-back entries may trigger immigration interviews. Analysts note that South Korea’s Ministry of Economy is weighing a new ‘digital-nomad’ D-Visa class in 2027; if adopted, it could offer Finns a longer-stay alternative once the waiver era ends.
Originally made mandatory for most Schengen nationals in 2023, K-ETA was waived in 2024 to turbo-charge post-pandemic tourism. Seoul says arrivals from Finland jumped 22 % in 2025, with average corporate-traveller spend back to 96 % of 2019 levels. The latest extension, timed ahead of the busy Lunar-New-Year season, aims to lock in that recovery and support Busan’s bid to host the 2026 World Expo.
For Finnish companies, the decision removes a small but annoying administrative step. Employee trips to Samsung’s Suwon campus or to Pyeongchang convention venues can be booked without waiting for pre-clearance. Travel-managers, however, should remember that South Korea still collects fingerprints on arrival and requires a separate digital Q-code health questionnaire—airlines may deny boarding if the form is missing.
The waiver is not open-ended. Seoul will re-evaluate visitor-screening once Europe’s own ETIAS travel authorisation launches in late 2026; a dual-system scenario could see K-ETA reinstated for reciprocity. Firms with high travel volumes may therefore want to monitor policy signals and keep template K-ETA forms ready for quick reactivation.
Practically, Finnish citizens need only a biometric passport with six months’ validity. Visa runners beware: stays over 90 days or back-to-back entries may trigger immigration interviews. Analysts note that South Korea’s Ministry of Economy is weighing a new ‘digital-nomad’ D-Visa class in 2027; if adopted, it could offer Finns a longer-stay alternative once the waiver era ends.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
