Bukhansan National Park in Seoul. File photoSEUL, Apr 1South Korea is resuming visa-free travel with Russia on April 1, along with a number of other countries, subject to the pre-registration of travelers in the Korea electronic traver authorization (K-ETA) electronic authorization system, according to the system’s website. South Korea has abolished short-term visas and limited visa-free travel from 90 countries, including the Russian Federation, in April 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. For citizens of 46 countries and regions, including Russia, these restrictions will be lifted from April 1, 2022. In total, a visa-free regime and registration in the K-ETA system will be available for 96 countries and regions. According to K-ETA, Russian citizens will be able to stay in South Korea without a visa for no more than 60 consecutive days and no more than 90 days in total for a period of 180 days .K-ETA permit is generally valid for multiple trips for two years or until the applicant's passport expires and costs 10,000 won (about eight dollars). The K-ETA itself is not a visa and does not guarantee entry into the Republic of Korea. An application for it must be submitted at least 72 hours before departure. This can be done on the website and in the mobile application of the system. The official website also contains instructions for submitting an application, including in Russian.Putin called for affordable prices for air tickets for RussiansIn addition to the return of a visa-free regime, South Korea also canceled the mandatory quarantine for vaccinated vaccines approved by the WHO. Starting April 1, even those travelers who are vaccinated outside of South Korea will be able to enter the country without going through quarantine. From March 21, a «knowing registration system» has been operating, where incoming citizens can register the fact of their vaccination. Upon registration, you must upload a negative PCR test result, vaccination certificate, health questionnaire, and a quarantine exclusion document. Approval should take about two days. At the same time, Russian vaccines are not yet included in the list approved by WHO. Another difficulty for Russian tourists is the lack of direct flights between Russia and South Korea at the moment. South Korean airlines Korean Air and Asiana Airlines on March 4 extended the suspension of flights to Russia and redirect their transit cargo and passenger aircraft to avoid Russian airspace. Korean Air has said that flights are suspended for security reasons until the end of April.
