Do you need a medical visa for treatment in Korea?

Published 17 September 2026 · Last updated 27 September 2026 · 10 min read · By Jae Han

Visa-free entry, K-ETA, the short-term medical visa and the long-term treatment visa: which question decides which one applies to you, and what the hospital has to provide.

SharePrint

Whether you need a medical visa depends on two things: your nationality, and how long treatment and recovery will keep you in Korea. The procedure itself matters much less than people think.

Verify before you rely on this: Visa categories, visa-free lists and K-ETA exemptions are set by Korea's Ministry of Justice and change, sometimes temporarily for a tourism campaign. Everything below is the general structure. Confirm your own case on HiKorea or with the Korean embassy in your country before booking flights.

#Step 1: can you enter without a visa?

Citizens of many countries can enter Korea for a short stay without a visa, usually after obtaining an electronic travel authorization (K-ETA) online unless their nationality is temporarily exempt from it. If treatment and recovery fit inside the short stay you are allowed, many visitors in this group never apply for a medical visa, but carry the hospital's appointment confirmation in case an immigration officer asks the purpose of your visit.

The length of a visa-free stay is set per nationality, and the spread is wide. The K-ETA site publishes the list: 90 days for passports such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates; 30 days for others, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Brunei and South Africa; six months for Canada; and special patterns for Russia (60 days in a row, not more than 90 within 180 days) and Kazakhstan (30 days in a row, not more than 60 within 180 days). A 30-day allowance is enough for a checkup or eyelid surgery and tight for anything that may need a second look.

Verify before you rely on this: As of 17 September 2026, the K-ETA site (Ministry of Justice) states: the fee is KRW 10,000, roughly USD 7–8, plus a 3% online payment charge, and it is not returned if the application is refused; review normally takes up to 72 hours and can take longer, with no express service; an approved K-ETA is valid for three years, or until the passport expires if that is sooner, and can be used for repeated entries; approval must be in hand before boarding. A notice on the same site dated 23 December 2025 extends the temporary K-ETA exemption for certain nationalities to 31 December 2026; the application form shows an exemption pop-up when an exempt passport is scanned. Apply only on k-eta.go.kr or the official app; the site itself warns about look-alike agency sites charging high fees. The K-ETA page describes the authorization as covering tourism, visiting relatives, events or meetings and business; if treatment is the main purpose of your trip, ask the Korean embassy or the Immigration Contact Center (1345) whether visa-free entry suits your case.

Practical note: A K-ETA is not a visa and does not extend anything. Its three-year validity is how long the authorization can be reused, not how long you may stay; each entry is still capped at your nationality's visa-free period, and the immigration officer at the airport makes the final decision on entry. If you renew your passport, you need a new K-ETA.

#Step 2: if you need a visa, which one

The Korea Visa Portal files both under 'Medical Treatment' and describes the eligible applicant as a patient entering for treatment or recuperation at a medical institution in Korea, or a caregiver of that patient, family members included. The dividing line between the two is simply the 90 days: if the plan your hospital writes down fits inside it, you are looking at C-3-3.

A companion, usually a family member or caregiver, can often apply in a related category. Ask the hospital's international centre early; patient and companion documents are normally prepared together. The Medical Korea visa page names the patient's spouse and children among the immediate family who may accompany, and embassies commonly ask for proof of the family relationship.

#How the application runs

1. As early as you canConfirm the treatment date with the hospital and, in the same message, ask for the appointment confirmation and an estimate of the treatment period. Ask whether the hospital applies on your behalf or you apply at the embassy.
2. Route A: you applyYou take the documents to the Korean embassy or consulate that covers where you live. Check its own page first: opening hours, appointment rules and extra documents differ between missions.
3. Route B: the hospital or a registered agency appliesA medical institution or agency registered for foreign patients requests a visa issuance certificate online in Korea. Ask the hospital exactly what you will receive from that process and what you still have to do yourself at the embassy.
4. While you waitDo not buy a non-changeable ticket. Processing time is the embassy's to decide and no official page promises a number of days.
5. On arrivalCarry printed copies of the hospital's confirmation, your accommodation address and the international centre's phone number. Answer the purpose-of-visit question plainly: medical treatment.
6. If treatment may overrunIf treatment is likely to run past your permitted stay, start the extension while you still have weeks in hand, not days.

Verify before you rely on this: As of 17 September 2026, the Korea Visa Portal lists the standard visa application fees as USD 40 for a single-entry visa of 90 days or less, USD 60 for a single-entry visa of 91 days or longer, USD 70 for a double-entry visa and USD 90 for a multiple-entry visa. The same page says fees differ for some nationalities under reciprocity or agreements, that online payment carries a card surcharge, and that the fee is not returned if the visa is refused. Your embassy's page has the figure that applies to your passport.

#What the hospital usually has to give you

• A letter or certificate confirming the appointment or treatment plan.
• For some nationalities and categories, a document from a hospital or agency registered with the government's foreign-patient programme.
• An estimate of the treatment period, which is what justifies the length of stay you apply for.

You will normally also need proof you can pay (bank statements or a deposit receipt) and a passport valid well beyond your planned stay.

The Medical Korea visa page lists the core set for a direct application: the visa application form and a passport copy, a diagnosis document from your own doctor, a document issued by a medical institution in Korea confirming the appointment for treatment or recuperation, and an affidavit of financial support showing you can fund the trip, plus whatever else the consulate asks for, such as proof of family relationship for a companion.

#What to get from the hospital in writing

• The appointment confirmation on hospital letterhead, with your name exactly as in your passport and your passport number.
• The expected treatment period, in days or weeks, including follow-up visits, not only the procedure date.
• Whether the hospital is registered with the government's foreign-patient programme, and its registration number if your embassy asks for one.
• Whether the hospital applies for a visa issuance certificate for you, or you apply yourself.
• Who signs a doctor's statement if you later need an extension, and how many working days that takes.
• A named contact and phone number at the international centre that an embassy or immigration officer could call.
• The same documents for your companion, issued together.

From my own visits: International centres at large hospitals issue visa letters routinely and know which form your embassy expects, but they work through a queue. Ask for the letter in the same email where you confirm the date, not afterwards. A week of waiting for paperwork is common, and it is the week nobody plans for.

#When treatment runs longer than planned

Extensions are applied for at an immigration office inside Korea, before your current permitted stay ends, with a doctor's statement that treatment is continuing. Overstaying, even by a few days and even for a medical reason, causes problems for future entry. If your surgeon says recovery needs longer, start the extension that same week.

Verify before you rely on this: As of 17 September 2026, the Korean government's portal for foreigners states that an extension of stay can be applied for from four months before the current period ends, at the immigration office for your area (by reservation) or through HiKorea's e-Application; that the standard fee is KRW 50,000; and that ordinary processing takes about 10 days, longer if the case needs further review. Which documents apply to a short-term visitor or a medical visa holder is decided by the immigration office — call the Immigration Contact Center on 1345 before you go.

Verify before you rely on this: As of 26 September 2026, the Korea Immigration Service page for the 1345 Immigration Contact Center states: it answers questions on immigration and living in Korea, including visa results and immigration office locations; it runs 09:00-22:00 on weekdays, with only Korean, English and Chinese after 18:00; dial 1345 with no area code inside Korea or +82-1345 from abroad, choose your language, then press * for multilingual counselling. Have your passport number and planned dates to hand when you call.

#Common mistakes

• Counting the stay from the procedure date. The permitted period starts the day you land, and the consultation days before surgery use it up too.
• Reading K-ETA validity as permission to stay. Three years is the life of the authorization, not of a visit.
• Assuming a 90-day allowance because a friend with a different passport had one. Several nationalities get 30 days.
• Booking a fixed ticket before the visa is issued.
• Asking the hospital for the visa letter after paying the deposit and confirming dates, then waiting in the queue with the flight already booked.
• Paying an agency site for a K-ETA. The official fee is about the price of a coffee; the look-alike sites charge many times that.
• Leaving an extension to the last days of the permitted stay.

Do not accept a visa arranged by a broker who asks you to state a different purpose of visit, and do not work or study on a medical visa. Misstating the purpose of entry is a much bigger problem than applying correctly.

#Common questions

Can I have plastic surgery in Korea on a tourist entry or K-ETA?

Many visitors from visa-free countries do have short cosmetic, dental or eye procedures during an ordinary short stay, and there is a dedicated medical category, C-3-3, for those who need or prefer a visa. The official K-ETA page lists tourism, family visits, events and business as its purposes, so if treatment is the whole reason for the trip, put the question to the Korean embassy or the 1345 contact centre and carry the hospital's confirmation either way.

What is the maximum permitted stay under each entry route?

Visa-free: whatever your nationality's period is on the K-ETA country list, which may be 30 days, 90 days or another figure. C-3-3: treatment and travel of 90 days or less. G-1-10: long-term treatment and rehabilitation, described by Medical Korea as up to one year. For how many nights typical procedures actually need, see the stay-length table linked below; most elective procedures sit well inside 30 days, and cancer treatment does not.

How much does a Korean medical visa cost?

The Korea Visa Portal's standard schedule is USD 40 for a single-entry visa of up to 90 days and USD 60 for a longer single-entry visa, with different amounts for some nationalities. There is no separate, higher price for the medical category on that schedule. Ask the hospital whether it charges for issuing the supporting letters.

Can my family come with me on a medical visa?

Yes, in principle. The Visa Portal's description of the medical category covers a caregiver of the patient, family members included, and the Medical Korea page names the spouse and children. Expect to show proof of the relationship. Apply together with the patient so the dates match.

What if my recovery takes longer than my visa allows?

Apply for an extension inside Korea before the permitted period ends, with a doctor's statement. Applications open four months before expiry and ordinary processing is about 10 days, so there is no reason to leave it to the final week. If you entered visa-free on a 30-day allowance and are having surgery with a two-week recovery, raise this with the hospital before you travel, not after.

Who can I ask in my own language?

The Medical Korea Information Center, run by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, lists consultation on entry and exit visas among its services, in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian as well as Korean depending on the location. As of 17 September 2026 its page gives the Medical Call number as +82-2-1577-7129 (09:00–18:00 Korea time, daily), with desks at Seoul Station and Incheon Airport Terminal 1. For a binding answer on your own case, the embassy and the 1345 Immigration Contact Center are the authorities.

Planning the trip? Tick off the trip checklist — what to get in writing, what to pack and which documents to collect before you fly home — and keep the Korean phrase cards on your phone for taxis and pharmacies.

This site is an information resource, not a medical provider, agency or broker. We do not arrange treatment, refer patients to specific hospitals, or receive commission from clinics for introductions. Nothing here is medical advice — decisions about treatment belong to you and a licensed doctor.

Back to top ↑