K-ETA for US Passport Holders 2026: Skip the 10,000-Won Fee, Fill Out the Free e-Arrival Card Instead

Bottom line: If you're traveling to Korea on a US passport for tourism, to visit family, or to attend an event, you don't need to apply for K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) through December 31, 2026. Instead, just fill out the Korea e-Arrival Card online, which opens 3 days before your arrival date. K-ETA is only required if you're coming for profit-making activity.

If you didn't know: the risk isn't skipping K-ETA by mistake — it's applying for it anyway "just to be safe" and paying for nothing. Per the Ministry of Justice's official guidance, the K-ETA fee is 10,000 won per person, and that fee is non-refundable even though you were exempt in the first place. A family of four applying together would hand over 40,000 won for no reason. The e-Arrival Card, by contrast, is free.

This article summarizes official information and is not legal advice.

Korea's Ministry of Justice extended the temporary K-ETA exemption for citizens of 22 countries and regions, including the United States, through all of 2026. Being exempt doesn't mean entry needs no paperwork at all, though — every traveler still has to fill out the e-Arrival Card, an electronic arrival and customs declaration. It opens online 3 days before your arrival date and folds in your customs declaration too. Per official guidance, finishing it before you fly cuts down on time spent filling out paperwork in line at immigration.

Some exempt travelers still apply for K-ETA anyway, and that only makes sense if you specifically want to skip filling out the e-Arrival Card. Official guidance notes that holding a K-ETA lets you bypass the e-Arrival Card, but it comes with a 10,000-won fee payable by credit card only. Since the e-Arrival Card itself takes just a few minutes to fill out, skipping K-ETA and sticking with the free e-Arrival Card is the cheaper call unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise.

Journey stage: Before you go · Verified 2026-10-13 · Source Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice