If South Korea is one of the countries in your travel list, it is important to know the all the travel requirements. On top of the list is the visa requirement.
You should know whether you are required to get South Korea visa from Dubai before travelling or you are eligible to travel without a visa.
In this guide, we have everything you need to know about obtaining South Korea visa from Dubai, visa exempted countries, the requirements when applying for the visa, costs, application process and so much more.
The requirement to obtain a visa for South Korea depends on your nationality. If you are a passport holder from a country with visa bilateral agreement with South Korea, you can travel without a visa.
Onn contrary, you will need to get South Korea visa before travelling if you are a passport holder from country not included in South Korea visa exempted countries.
If you are allowed to enter South Korea visa free is it only for short term stay and you should not engage in financial generating activities.
If you hold Canadian passport you ca travel to South Korea visa free and stay in the country for up to 180 days.
If you are a passport holder from the countries below you are allowed to travel to South for short term sty up to 90 days without a visa.
| European Union countries (except Cyprus) | Hong Kong | Saint Kitts and Nevis |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Iceland | Saint Lucia |
| Australia | Israel | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Bahamas | Jamaica | Serbia |
| Barbados | Japan | Singapore |
| Brazil | Kuwait | Suriname |
| Chile | Liechtenstein | Switzerland |
| Colombia | Macau | Taiwan |
| Costa Rica | Malaysia | Thailand |
| Dominica | Mexico | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Dominican Republic | Morocco | Turkey |
| Ecuador | New Zealand | United Arab Emirates |
| El Salvador | Nicaragua | United States |
| Grenada | Norway | Uruguay |
| Guatemala | Panama | Venezuela |
| Haiti | Peru | Venezuela |
Lesotho and Russia passport holders are allowed to travel to South Korea without a visa for a short term stay up to 60 days.
You can travel to South Korea for a short term stay up to 30 days if you are passport holder form the countries below.
| Albania | Honduras | Paraguay |
| Andorra | Kazakhstan | Qatar |
| Argentina | Kiribati | Samoa |
| Bahrain | Marshall Islands | San Marino |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Mauritius | Saudi Arabia |
| Botswana | Micronesia | Seychelles |
| Brunei | Monaco | Solomon Islands |
| Cyprus | Montenegro | South Africa |
| Eswatini | Nauru | Tonga |
| Fiji | New Caledonia | Tunisia |
| Guam | Oman | Tuvalu |
| Guyana | Palau | Vatican City |
South Korean visas are categorized according to 3 factors:
Below are the Korean short term stay visas you can apply for depending on purpose of visit.
The issuance of visa is reserved to foreign national who want to visit South Korea for tourism ore recreation reasons.
You can also be issued with this visa if you are reason for visiting South Korea is:
This is the visa to apply for if you reason for visiting South Korea is to engage into business related activities but it should now be to start working.
Mots national are allowed to transit through South Korea visa free provided they don’t leave the airport and enter the country and they have to leave the country within 24 hours.
However, nationals from the below countries must hold a visa to be allowed transit through South Korea.
When you are applying for South Korea visa from Dubai, here are the documents you have to gather.
You need to have a valid passport issued not more than 10 years ago, with at least 2 blank pages and will not expire at least 3 months when you return to Dubai from South Korea.
If you are Dubai resident and you are employed you have to submit letter from the employer or company with company stamp detailing when you started working for that company, your position, monthly salary and company has allowed you to travel.
When submitting you South Korea visa application, you will be required to attach in the application your 2 recent photos, your face should be clear in the photos and the background should be white.
If you are not Dubai citizen and you will submit your South Korea visa application in Dubai, you have to attach a copy of your Dubai residence visa. The visa should be at least 3 months valid when you return to Dubai.
You should reserve your flight tickets and submit the documents as a proof showing the date you will be traveling, the flight number and also you have booked a return ticket.
Other requirements
Arooha Tours can assist you apply for South Korea visa from Dubai by following these steps
Contact Arooha Tours visa consultant through WhatsApp
Provide the relevant documents
Pay the consultation and visa fees
Preliminary checking and advices
Type application and prepare relevant documents
Examine the application thoroughly by the visa consultant
Appointment with South Korean embassy to submit your documents and bio-metrics
The Embassy will start processing your visa application
Passport collection
Visa- ready notification
| Single-entry visa (up to 90 days) | US$ 40 |
| Single-entry visa (longer than 90 days) | US$ 60 |
| Double-entry visa | US$ 70 |
| Multiple-entry visa | US$ 90 |
The prices above are exclusive of consultation fees. Also, note the visa application fee is non-refundable no matter the outcome of the application.
It takes around 15 days for the South Korea embassy to process the general visa application after your submit your visa application and all other required documents.
Even though the standard time for processing South Korea visa is 15 days, the processing may take longer depending on the type of visa you are applying for, the backlog at the embassy and your nationality.
The official currency in South Korea is South Korean Won (KRW with ₩ symbol
The official language in South Korea is Korean but locals also speak other languages such as Japanese, English, and Mandarin.
There are 4 season in South Korea. During winter season the climate is cold and dry. Summer it is hot, humid and rainfall. The spring and autumn season climate is dry and clear. To sum it up, the climate in South Korea is temperate.
There are several places you can visit in South Korea and a lot of activities you can do. Here is our suggestion what to do in South Korea for best experience during your visit.
You can enjoy your visit to South Korea by visiting Jeju Island. It is among the best Island to explore in South Kore if you love nature.
The landscape in this Island is amusing from volcanic craters, waterfalls, and sandy beaches. It is a top destination if you are travelling to South Korea for a vacation. You will enjoy the tranquility in this Island.
You can try different experience at this Island which includes visiting Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, hiking up Hallasan Mountain or you can choose to relax the beaches like Hamdeok and Jungmun.
You can learn all about Korea cultural heritage when you visit Gyeongju. You will get a chance to visit ancient temples with a lot of history, tombs and relics.
More so, you will also have an opportunity to explore site in Gyeongju National Park, visit the oldest astronomical observatories in Asia Cheomseongdae Observatory and several other places.
When you tour the Seoul city although is a modern city today, you will be amazed to see there are also ancient places still existing.
It is the largest city in South Korea and you cannot leave without exploring different parts in the city. You can visit the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace, go shopping in the Myeongdong district or take a walk to the Gangnam neighborhood.
You should tray pout different street food when exploring this city or enter at any restaurant for traditional South Korea cuisine.
How many days will my visa process take?
From the time you submit your South Korea visa application the embassy will take approximately 7-10 days to process your visa.
Do children below the age of 18 need to be accompanied by parents?
Children who are below 18 years are required to be accompanied by their parent or guardian when traveling to South Korea from Dubai.
If the child will travel alone the parent are required to sign a NOC letter and attach passport copies to the letter.
What if my passport is older than and 10 years, can I still apply for a visa?
The requirements stated the visa should not have been issued more than 10 yes ago. Therefore if your passport is holder than 10 year your visa application will be rejected because the embassy will not be able to enter it in their systems.
Will I be able to pull my passport back during the process?
You are allowed to pull back your passport when applying for a visa to South Korea if you are a pilot, cabin crew or travel occasionally but you will be required to prove that by submitting your travel itinerary.
Even if you will be given your passport, you will have to submit it again for South Korea visa stamping
Is the visa fee refunded in case of rejection?
Even if your South Korea visa application is rejected you will be refunded the visa application fees.
What if visa got delayed due to embassy?
You should contact the embassy to inquire why there is delaying on processing your visa.
Is insurance mandatory to get visa?
The travel insurance is among the musty have documents when applying for South Korea visa from Dubai.
Hotel booking is required?
You have to submit documents showing you have where you will be staying in South Korea and a hotel booking is among documents you can submit as evidence.
