March 18, 2026
SEOUL – South Korea on Monday expanded access to its automated immigration clearance gates to travelers from Canada and 23 European countries, aiming to simplify entry procedures and boost tourism.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the list of countries eligible for using Korea’s automated immigration clearance gates has been expanded to 42 from the previous list of 18.
The expanded list now includes all EU members, as well as Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland, four non-EU members of the Schengen Agreement, to which most EU members belong.
The previously eligible countries are Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand.
The Ministry of Justice said the decision to include the EU and Schengen countries reflects the possibility of reciprocal arrangements allowing Korean citizens to use automated immigration systems in those countries.
It added that Canada was also included in consideration of the simplified kiosk-based entry procedures already available to Korean travelers entering the country.
“We hope that the convenient immigration procedure will encourage more foreign visitors to Korea, leading to economic revitalization and the public livelihood,” said Jung Sung-ho, Minister of Justice.