South Korea extends issuance of e-visas for these Asian countries

SEOUL - The government of South Korea has announced a two-year extension of the pilot e-group visa program for citizens from multiple Asian countries.

The country's Ministry of Justice confirmed the development, the beneficiaries of which would be citizens from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The program was introduced last June and aims to boost tourism from these Southeast Asian nations.

As far as the details are concerned, the visa program is tailored for groups of at least three members, and company incentive tours, educational trips below the collegiate level, and standard tourist groups can benefit from the initiative. It is to be clarified that a condition to qualify for this program is that travelers must enter and exit South Korea using the same mode of transportation.

Accredited travel agencies authorized by the Korean government will manage e-group visa applications through the Korea Visa Portal for the applicants; applications will be processed online.

The program's success can be gauged from the fact that since its inception, the program has significantly increased group visits from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Visits doubled from 23,781 in early 2023 to 47,397 by the year's end and surged to 56,427 in the initial five months of 2024, vnexpress reported.