Passport / Visa

Passport

Please ensure your passport has at least 6 months‘ validity from date of return from Seoul, South Korea.
Kindly renew your passport if the validity period is before 5 April 2025.

K-ETA / Visa Requirements

VAT Refund

The standard VAT in South Korea is 10%. 

You are eligible for a VAT Refund before leaving South Korea if you meet all the following requirements:

• Minimum purchase of KRW 15,000 , purchased within 3 months of departure.
• Foreign tourists: who have stayed in Korea for less than 6 months.
• Overseas Korean: who have stayed in Korea for less than 3 months and have lived overseas for over 2 years.

Procedure of VAT Refund

1. Claim your boarding pass, but do not check-in your baggage and make sure to hold onto the VAT refund receipts.
2. Show the purchased goods and VAT refund receipts to the customs officer and get the Customs Export Approval stamp on the receipts. 
3. Proceed to the baggage counter at the check-in area and check-in your luggage.
4. Proceed to a nearby tax refund counter or kiosk machine with your passport and tax refund receipt. Actual cash refund can be received in the Duty Free Zone after security inspection and screening.

Options to Receive VAT refund:

1. Visit a refund office at the border operated by a specialized collecting agency and receive a cash refund on spot.
2. Receive either credit card refund, including Alipay and WeChat Pay, or immediate cash refund at tax refund booths in major city downtown tax refund booths.

SIM Card Information

SIM Card Providers Available in Airport:

• Korea Telecom (KT)
• LG U+
• SK Telecom

SIM Card Providers Locations:

• Terminal 1: Located near Arrival Hall A, F on the 1st Floor. For more details, click here.
• Terminal 2: Located near Exit 3 on the 1st Floor. For more details, click here.

Destination

Language

The main language is Korean (Hangul). 

Currency & Payment Type Available

The currency of Korea is the won (₩; KRW). You can easily exchange foreign currencies into Korean won at banks’ exchange offices in the airport, banks in downtown Seoul, and private currency exchange offices.

• Korean monetary unit
  1. Bills: Four types of bills, including ₩1,000, ₩5,000, ₩10,000, and ₩50,000.
  2. Coins: Four types of coins, including ₩10, ₩50, ₩100, and ₩500.

Traveler’s checks
Traveler’s checks can be exchanged for cash at banks or currency exchange offices. Traveler’s checks can be used as an alternative to cash, but checks are rarely used in Korea.

Credit card
Credit cards can be used in most stores, restaurants, hotels, and tourist destinations nationwide. You can pay by credit card regardless of the amount, small or large. Businesses accept various credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express.

Note
– You are required to present a passport or residence card when exchanging currency.
– You can exchange currency up to USD 10,000 at a time. For currency exchange of more than the said amount, a customs declaration is required.

Cuisine Type

There is a wide variety of cuisines available ranging from Korean, to the wider Asian cuisine.

Embassy Information