K-ETA and the e-Arrival Card, in One Line
Two different questions get answered by two different Korean government systems, and travelers routinely assume they're the same form.
K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) is a pre-departure screening for citizens of visa-waiver-program countries β you apply before you fly, and it's tied to your passport for a set validity period. The e-Arrival Card is a customs and quarantine declaration, the digital replacement for the paper form immigration officers used to hand out on the plane. One is about permission to travel; the other is about telling Korea where you'll be and why.
A K-ETA exemption β and several nationalities have had temporary fee exemptions extended more than once over the past few years β cancels the first requirement. It does not cancel the second. That gap is exactly where people get caught: they read "K-ETA exempt," relax, and skip the e-Arrival Card entirely, only to be handed a paper form in the arrivals hall while everyone else with a phone screenshot walks past them.
What Your Nationality Actually Requires
There's no single rule that covers every passport, so treat this as a lookup, not a guess:
| Your situation | K-ETA | e-Arrival Card |
|---|---|---|
| Nationality on the current exemption list | Not required for now | Still required, within 72 hours of arrival |
| Nationality not exempt, no K-ETA yet | Apply before booking is final | Not required once K-ETA is approved |
| Nationality exempt, but you apply for K-ETA anyway | Optional, but allowed | Not required if K-ETA is approved |
The exemption list and its end date are the two things most likely to have changed since this page was last checked β confirm both at k-eta.go.kr before you assume your passport qualifies. An approved K-ETA, once issued, generally removes the separate e-Arrival Card obligation. That's the one relationship worth memorizing: holding K-ETA cancels the e-Arrival Card requirement; being exempt from K-ETA does not.
The two systems also generate unrelated reference numbers. Some travelers show an airline check-in agent only their K-ETA approval email and assume it covers everything, then discover at boarding that the e-Arrival Card was never filed because they never held an approved K-ETA to begin with β they were simply exempt from applying for one.
When to Submit the e-Arrival Card, and What Goes In It
The submission window is fixed: 72 hours before your scheduled arrival, and not a minute sooner. People who like to get travel admin out of the way early open the site four or five days ahead, find the submit button greyed out, and conclude the government site is down. It isn't β the form is designed to reject early submissions on purpose, since some of the declared information (like connecting flight changes) can shift close to departure.
Have these ready before you start:
- Passport details (number, nationality, expiry date)
- Flight number and arrival date
- Accommodation address in Korea, written in English
- Purpose of visit and length of stay
The form works on both a phone browser and a desktop, and most travelers finish it in under ten minutes. There's no interview and no photo requirement β it's a declaration, not an application.
How to Spot the Official Site vs. a Fee-Charging Copycat
Both systems are free beyond the government's own charge (K-ETA carries an official application fee; the e-Arrival Card does not). The only two domains that matter are k-eta.go.kr and e-arrivalcard.go.kr. Everything else you find through a search engine is, at best, a third party repackaging the same public form for a service fee, and at worst, a page collecting your passport data for no legitimate purpose.
The most reliable habit is typing the address directly into your browser instead of clicking the top search result. If a payment screen ever shows an amount noticeably higher than the published government fee, close the tab β that's the clearest signal you've landed on a reseller, not the source.
What Immigration Actually Checks on Arrival
Filing both forms online doesn't remove the in-person check at the immigration counter. Officers commonly ask about:
- Your accommodation address for the stay (having a booking confirmation screenshot ready is faster than opening an app to search for it)
- How long you intend to stay in the country
- Whether you're holding a return or onward ticket
Passport validity requirements are checked as well, and they differ by nationality β some require months of validity beyond your departure date, so verify your specific requirement on the official K-ETA page rather than assuming a flat rule. Visa-free stay length also varies by passport, so don't rely on a number you heard from a friend who traveled on a different nationality.
The line moves faster for travelers who already have their hotel address open and visible rather than searching for it while the officer waits. It's a small thing, but it's the single most common reason a queue backs up.
After You Submit, Save These Two Things
Once both (or whichever one applies to you) are filed, take a screenshot of each confirmation screen β the K-ETA approval and the e-Arrival Card submission receipt, if you filed one. Do this immediately rather than planning to find the email later.
Airport Wi-Fi doesn't always connect the instant you land, and an email client set to fetch new mail on demand may simply fail to load anything offline. A screenshot saved to your camera roll opens in airplane mode with zero connection required. Printing either confirmation isn't mandatory, but writing down the reference number somewhere separate from your phone gives you a fallback if a screen ever won't load at the counter.