Visa requirement for business meeting in South Korea? Internet says no but our corporate travel agent is saying I do. Anyone had any actual experience?
I went for business... I don't recall getting a visa but it was a few years ago and as moa999 says below, the embassy website says you need one, so maybe the requirements changed.
Australian passport holder can enter Korea without an entry visa, if the purpose of their visit is Transit or Tourism and stay up to the 90days. You must have a valid Australian passport and onwards air/ferry-ticket to leave Korea within 90 days.
If you need to engage in remunerative activities, etc. they must apply for a Korean visa appropriate to their purpose.
*For business meeting or conference, they must apply for visa.
Of course YMMV, and it all depends how you tick the box.
The rules havent changed recently as far as I know. It has always been a grey area. I have been to Korea 3 times in the last couple of years. I always applied for a visa although there are couple of other colleagues of mine who traveled without a visa. It is indeed very tricky. If you want to have a peace of mind, just get a visa. It is very easy to apply, not very expensive, minimal documents & usually you get in 3-5 business days. If you are planning of traveling again in near future, apply for a multiple entry which is valid for 12 months.
If you are travelling with a collection of business documents, and you are pulled out for questioning for some reason, and they examine your bag, then you will certainly require a Visa. I wouldn't take the risk, especially when your corporate travel agent said to get one.
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Visa requirement for business meeting in South Korea?
djbsmith
djbsmith
Member since 31 Aug 2012
Total posts 10
Visa requirement for business meeting in South Korea? Internet says no but our corporate travel agent is saying I do. Anyone had any actual experience?
AusFlyer
AusFlyer
Member since 10 Mar 2011
Total posts 137
I have been to Seoul on a number of occasions for meetings and never needed a visa....
djbsmith
djbsmith
Member since 31 Aug 2012
Total posts 10
did you say business purposes or holiday?
AusFlyer
AusFlyer
Member since 10 Mar 2011
Total posts 137
I went for business... I don't recall getting a visa but it was a few years ago and as moa999 says below, the embassy website says you need one, so maybe the requirements changed.
moa999
moa999
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Jul 2011
Total posts 834
Embassy website has the following note:
Australian passport holder can enter Korea without an entry visa, if the purpose of their visit is Transit or Tourism and stay up to the 90days. You must have a valid Australian passport and onwards air/ferry-ticket to leave Korea within 90 days.
If you need to engage in remunerative activities, etc. they must apply for a Korean visa appropriate to their purpose.
*For business meeting or conference, they must apply for visa.
Of course YMMV, and it all depends how you tick the box.
moa999
moa999
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Jul 2011
Total posts 834
Link here:
http://aus-act.mofa.go.kr/english/as/aus-act/visa/issuance/index.jsp
(separate post as link needs approval)
ssn
ssn
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 20 Jul 2011
Total posts 6
The rules havent changed recently as far as I know. It has always been a grey area. I have been to Korea 3 times in the last couple of years. I always applied for a visa although there are couple of other colleagues of mine who traveled without a visa. It is indeed very tricky. If you want to have a peace of mind, just get a visa. It is very easy to apply, not very expensive, minimal documents & usually you get in 3-5 business days. If you are planning of traveling again in near future, apply for a multiple entry which is valid for 12 months.
StuParr
StuParr
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 01 Mar 2012
Total posts 204
I agree with MOA99, it really depends how you tick the box. you really don't need a visa.
Phil Young
Phil Young
Qantas
Member since 22 Oct 2012
Total posts 259
If you are travelling with a collection of business documents, and you are pulled out for questioning for some reason, and they examine your bag, then you will certainly require a Visa. I wouldn't take the risk, especially when your corporate travel agent said to get one.