Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source
No start date has been published. Launch timing is on the launch status tracker, which is the only page here that carries it.
K-ETA is the nearest equivalent anywhere
Korea operates the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, and of every system compared across these guides it is the one that most closely matches what Europe is building. Same instrument, comparable price, and the same three year life. A Korean traveller needs less explanation of ETIAS than almost anyone.
| Point of comparison | ETIAS, for Koreans visiting Europe | K-ETA, for visitors to Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | EUR 20 | KRW 10,000, with online payment processing charged on top. |
| How long it lasts | Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. | Three years, or until the passport expires if that is sooner, usable any number of times inside the validity period. |
| Who is exempt from the fee | Applicants under 18 years or above 70 years of age at the time of the application. | No age exemption is stated on the application guide. |
| How many countries it covers | 30 | One. |
Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source
If you have seen K-ETA described as lasting two years, that was true of applications made before July 2023 and is not true now. The Ministry of Justice states both figures on the same page, which is a useful reminder that a comparison figure copied once and never rechecked goes stale quietly. The earlier version of this page carried the two year figure.
The two places the analogy breaks
The stay limit is pooled. K-ETA covers arrival in one country, so the permitted stay is that country's rule and there is nothing to add up. ETIAS will cover 30 countries at once, and the limit is 90 days in any 180 day period across all of them combined. Ninety days in France does not leave ninety more for Italy. The counting is on the 90 in 180 day rule.
The authorisation is not the stay permission. Korea makes this distinction explicitly: K-ETA validity is separate from the visa-free stay period, and holding one does not extend the other. Europe works the same way and states it less clearly, so it is worth borrowing the Korean framing. The authorisation lets you present yourself at the border. The stay limit governs how long you may remain once admitted. They are different clocks.
Business travel
An authorisation will cover business visits, which means meetings, negotiations, conferences and trade fairs. It will not cover working in Europe, providing services under a local contract, or taking up employment. For a Korean group with European operations, the distinction is the same one that already governs assignments: an authorisation is not a work permit, and a longer posting needs the relevant country's own instrument.
The planning point for a travel department is the pooled stay limit rather than the authorisation itself. Someone who visits European offices monthly can accumulate days faster than expected, and since 10 April 2026 those days have been recorded digitally by the Entry/Exit System rather than stamped by hand.
Your passport
Your travel document should not expire in less than three months and it should not be older than 10 years.
Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source
Both conditions are about the document. The second asks how old the passport is rather than how long is left on it, so the issue date is the one to look up. Korea already ties K-ETA to a specific passport and requires a fresh application after reissue; Europe will do the same, so the sensible order is to renew the passport first and obtain the authorisation against the new one.
Dual nationality
Korean law restricts dual nationality for most adults, with limited exceptions. Where a person does hold both Korean and EU citizenship, travelling on the EU passport removes this requirement entirely, because free movement is a different legal basis and the short-stay limit does not apply to it. Where the second nationality is not an EU one, this applies according to the passport actually used for the journey, and the authorisation must match the passport presented at the border.
Common questions
Does K-ETA count for anything in Europe?
No. There is no recognition between the systems in either direction. They are separate authorisations run by separate governments that happen to be built on the same idea.
Can one application cover a whole European itinerary?
Yes. One authorisation will cover every participating country, with unlimited trips inside its validity. The list of countries, and the separate list of countries operating the Entry/Exit System, is on countries and territories.
Korean-language sites are advertising this now. Are they legitimate?
They cannot be. ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. Korea has the same problem with agencies charging inflated fees for K-ETA, and the Ministry of Justice warns about it on its own site. The patterns are the same ones set out on avoiding ETIAS scams.
Guides for other nationalities
Each of these covers the same requirement from a different starting point, because the comparison that makes it clear is different in each country.
- ETIAS for US citizens
- ETIAS for UK citizens
- ETIAS for Canadian citizens
- ETIAS for Australian citizens
- ETIAS for New Zealand citizens
- ETIAS for Japanese citizens
- ETIAS for Singaporean citizens
- ETIAS for Brazilian citizens
Nationalities without a guide are listed in the data table on countries and territories. We would rather list a country once, accurately, than write a thin page about it.
Last verified 10 September 2026. How we verify