K-ETA Explained: Who Qualifies and How to Apply
K-ETA (케이이티에이, ke-i-ti-e-i — Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) is an electronic pre-clearance system that replaces the need for a visa stamp for eligible nationalities. It is not a visa; it is an online entry permission linked to your passport.
Who qualifies. Nationals of 112 countries — including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and all EU member states — are eligible. K-ETA covers entry for tourism, business, and medical treatment purposes, which means a plastic surgery visit is explicitly within scope.
What it costs and how long it takes. K-ETA is free of charge. The application is completed at the official K-ETA portal (k-eta.go.kr). Most applications are processed within minutes; the government advises allowing up to 72 hours. Once approved, a single K-ETA is valid for multiple entries over two years.
Maximum permitted stay. Each entry under K-ETA allows a stay of up to 90 days. The practical recovery window for the large majority of plastic surgery procedures — rhinoplasty, double eyelid surgery, facial contouring, breast augmentation — falls between 10 and 30 days in-country, well within the 90-day ceiling.
What you need to apply. A valid passport with at least six months’ remaining validity, a credit or debit card for the application portal, and a working email address for the approval notification. No medical documents, clinic letters, or proof of appointment are required for K-ETA.
Korea received 1,170,467 foreign patients in 2024,¹ with plastic surgery and dermatology accounting for the largest share of procedures sought by international patients.² The overwhelming majority entered on K-ETA or visa-free arrangements rather than formal medical visas.
C-3-M Medical Visa: When You Need It and What It Requires
The C-3-M is a short-term (단기, dangi — short-term) medical visa issued by Korean consulates to patients whose stay or nationality falls outside K-ETA eligibility. There is no dedicated “plastic surgery visa” category; C-3-M covers all short-term medical visitors.
Two triggers that require a C-3-M instead of K-ETA:
- Your nationality is not on the K-ETA eligible country list.
- Your planned stay in Korea will exceed 30 consecutive days on a single entry (even if K-ETA’s 90-day ceiling technically permits it, immigration officers may query extended stays without a medical visa for stays approaching 60–90 days; a C-3-M removes that ambiguity).
Required documents for a C-3-M application:
- Valid passport (minimum six months’ validity beyond intended departure)
- Completed visa application form (available from the Korean consulate in your country)
- Clinic invitation letter (see the next section for required contents)
- Medical documentation: diagnosis or procedure description, written in English or with a certified translation
- Proof of financial capacity (bank statements or equivalent)
- Return flight booking or itinerary
- Passport-sized photographs meeting Korean consulate specifications
Processing time and fees. Standard processing at most Korean consulates takes 3–7 business days. Fees vary by country of application; confirm the current fee schedule with your nearest Korean consulate before applying. Submit your application well before departure — 4 weeks is the minimum recommended lead time when a clinic invitation letter is required.
Permitted stay. The C-3-M is issued for the duration specified in your clinic’s invitation letter, up to a maximum of 90 days per entry.
Clinic Invitation Letter: What It Must Include
A clinic invitation letter (초청장, chocheong-jang — invitation document) is the anchor document in any C-3-M medical visa application. Korean clinics that regularly serve international patients — Gangnam-gu alone receives approximately 60% of medical tourists seeking aesthetic procedures³ — are experienced at producing these letters quickly and accurately.
The letter must contain all of the following:
- Clinic identification: Full legal clinic name, Korean business registration number, and clinic address
- Patient identification: Patient’s full legal name exactly as it appears on their passport, and passport number
- Procedure details: The specific procedure name (in English and Korean), and the scheduled or anticipated procedure date
- Surgeon identification: Treating surgeon’s full name and Korean medical license number — verifiable against the KSPRS public registry⁴
- Estimated stay duration: The number of days the clinic estimates the patient will require in Korea for the procedure and immediate post-operative recovery
- Clinic responsibility statement: A signed declaration that the clinic accepts responsibility for the patient’s medical care during the stated period
Practical steps. Request the invitation letter at the same time you confirm your procedure booking — do not wait until after you have booked flights. Allow the clinic at least five business days to prepare the document. Obtain both a signed PDF for digital submission and a wet-signature hard copy for consulate submission if your consulate requires original documents.
If any detail on the letter contains a discrepancy with your passport, the consulate will reject the application. Verify every field before submitting.
Entry Requirements by Country: USA, Australia, UK
The three largest English-speaking source markets for Korean plastic surgery have distinct but straightforward entry pathways. All prices and figures in the table reflect conditions as of the page’s lastVerified date; FX rates (KRW/USD/AUD) are indicative at 2026-07-28.
Key points by nationality:
USA. US citizens enter visa-free under K-ETA for up to 90 days. The US ranked as the fourth-largest source country for foreign patients in Korea in 2024.¹ No supporting documents are required for K-ETA; the portal only requires passport details and contact information.
Australia. Australian citizens hold the same K-ETA eligibility and 90-day limit. The two main consulate locations for C-3-M applications are Sydney and Melbourne; processing times are consistent with the 3–7 business day standard.
UK. UK nationals remain K-ETA eligible post-Brexit. The single Korean consulate in London handles all UK C-3-M applications. Allow extra lead time if applying during peak holiday periods when consulate volumes are higher.
Extending Your Stay: Recovery Overruns and Complications
Most plastic surgery recoveries that require in-country monitoring fall within 10–30 days. K-ETA’s 90-day ceiling provides substantial buffer — for patients who enter on K-ETA, a recovery overrun does not typically create an immigration problem.
If you entered on K-ETA and need more time. You have up to 90 days from your entry stamp. If an unforeseen complication extends your required stay close to or beyond that 90-day window, visit the nearest 출입국·외국인청 (Chulipguk oegugincheon — Immigration and Foreigner Office) with a letter from your treating clinic documenting the medical reason for the extended stay. Short extensions are routinely granted for documented medical necessity.
If you entered on a C-3-M with a shorter approved duration. The same process applies: a clinic letter confirming the medical necessity for a longer stay, submitted in person at a Korean immigration office. Bring your passport, the original C-3-M visa, and any post-operative documentation your clinic can provide.
Practical note on complications. Serious post-operative complications requiring extended hospital admission are uncommon but possible with any surgical procedure. Before departure, confirm with your clinic what their protocol is for managing complications that require a longer stay, and ensure your travel insurance policy covers extended medical stays and repatriation.
Need help coordinating your trip?
Navigating visa timelines, clinic invitation letters, and accommodation while also managing a surgical booking is logistically demanding. A KHIDI-registered facilitator handles these moving parts under disclosed terms — all financial relationships with clinics must be disclosed to patients under KHIDI registration obligations.⁵
Sources
¹ KHIDI Medical Tourism Statistics 2024 — total foreign patients and US country ranking. khidi.or.kr
² KHIDI Medical Tourism Statistics 2024 — specialty breakdown. khidi.or.kr
³ KHIDI Medical Tourism Statistics 2024 — regional distribution, Gangnam-gu concentration. khidi.or.kr
⁴ Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons — public surgeon verification registry. plasticsurgery.or.kr
⁵ KHIDI Registered Medical Tourism Facilitator Registry — kickback prohibition and disclosure obligations. khidi.or.kr/medicalkorea