Who needs this service and why
Most of the world's nationalities need a visa to enter South Korea. A limited group of countries hold visa exemption arrangements, and everyone else applies through the Korean embassy or its visa application centre before they travel.
If you are living in or visiting Thailand and you hold one of those visa-requiring passports, this is your service. We prepare and file your Korean visa application from Bangkok: tourist, family visit or business, whichever fits your purpose.
There is a second group who end up here too. Travellers whose nationality is exempt still need K-ETA, the Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation, and K-ETA is refused more often than people expect, with no reason given and no appeal. Airlines will not board you without it. When that happens, the route forward is a proper tourist visa application, where a human officer reads the evidence you provide. We handle those too, and they are some of the most satisfying cases we run, because the applicant finally gets assessed on their actual circumstances.
The two routes into Korea
Visa
- Required for most nationalities.
- Applied for at the Korean embassy or through its visa application centre in Bangkok.
- You submit full documents and a consular officer assesses them.
- Tourist visas commonly allow up to 90 days. Family visit and business categories have their own terms.
- This is also the route after a K-ETA refusal.
K-ETA
- Applies only to nationalities covered by a visa exemption arrangement, including Thai passport holders.
- Applied for online before travel, allowing up to 90 days for tourism.
- No documents are submitted and no reason is given for a refusal.
Who this is for
- Foreigners living in or visiting Thailand whose nationality requires a Korean visa. This is the largest group we serve for Korea.
- Anyone whose K-ETA was refused, especially with flights already booked.
- People visiting family in Korea, where a documented family visit visa suits the trip better than a tourist entry.
- Business travellers attending meetings, conferences or working with a Korean company.
- Anyone previously refused entry to Korea or questioned at immigration on a past trip, who wants a documented application this time.
- Thai nationals whose trip or purpose goes beyond what visa free entry covers.
What the visa application needs
- Passport with sufficient validity and blank pages.
- Photograph to Korean specification.
- Completed application form.
- Proof of employment, business ownership or student status.
- Bank statements showing funds consistent with the trip.
- Confirmed flight reservation and accommodation.
- Day by day itinerary.
- Evidence of your ties to Thailand or your home country, such as employment, property or family.
- Where visiting relatives, an invitation letter and evidence of their status in Korea.
- Your K-ETA refusal record, if you have one.
The exact checklist depends on your nationality and your visa category, and we confirm it for your case before you gather anything.
How it works
First, we confirm your category and review your documents. We establish which visa your nationality and purpose call for, then go through everything you have against that category's checklist. We confirm what you already satisfy and give you a clear list of anything else worth obtaining, and where to get it. If you are coming to us after a K-ETA refusal with a fixed travel date, we tell you immediately what the timeline looks like.
Second, we build the file. We assemble your employment, financial and travel documents, write the itinerary, and document your connections to Thailand or to home. Where relatives in Korea are involved, we brief them on the invitation and status documents they need to provide. Where there has been a K-ETA refusal, we address it directly in the file rather than leaving the officer to wonder.
Third, we submit and track it. We lodge the application through the correct channel for your nationality, monitor it, and respond to any request from the embassy. When the visa is issued we check the validity and permitted stay before you finalise your travel.
About K-ETA refusals
Korea does not publish its K-ETA criteria, so nobody can tell you with certainty why a particular application was declined. What we see repeatedly is that K-ETA judges people on very little information: a short form, no supporting documents, no opportunity to explain anything. A new passport with no travel history, a small error in the form, or an employment description that does not fit neatly into the space provided can all produce a refusal from an applicant whose actual circumstances are entirely sound.
That is exactly why the visa route works. It gives you the chance to submit the context K-ETA never asked for: your employment, your finances, your itinerary, your reasons for the trip and your connections at home, read by an officer rather than a screening system.
FAQ
1. Does my nationality need a visa for Korea?
Most do. A limited group of countries hold visa exemption arrangements, with K-ETA required in place of a visa. Send us your passport details and we will confirm which applies to you.
2. My K-ETA was refused. What now?
Apply for a tourist visa. It is a different process, assessed by a consular officer on the documents you provide, and it is the route that gives you a proper hearing. Send us the refusal and your travel dates.
3. Will Korea tell me why my K-ETA was denied?
No. K-ETA gives no substantive reason and has no appeal. The visa application is where your circumstances actually get looked at.
4. I already booked flights and my K-ETA was refused. How fast can you work?
Tell us your travel date straight away. Embassy processing runs in working days, and we will tell you immediately what is achievable so you can make decisions about your booking.
5. Does a K-ETA refusal hurt my visa application?
Not in itself. The consular officer is doing a completely different and far more thorough assessment. We include the refusal openly and build the file around your actual circumstances.
6. How long can I stay on the visa?
Tourist visas commonly allow up to 90 days. Family visit and business categories have their own terms, and we will confirm what your category gives you.
7. Can I work in Korea on a tourist visa or K-ETA?
No. Both are for tourism and short visits. If work or study is the goal, there is a separate visa category and we will look at which one fits.
8. I am a foreigner living in Thailand. Can I apply from Bangkok?
Yes. Applying where you live, work and bank is the natural choice, and your Thai visa, employment and local documents all form part of the file. This is one of the most common cases we handle for Korea.
9. I want to visit my daughter who lives in Korea. Does that change things?
It may point to a family visit category rather than a tourist visa, which can suit a longer stay better. It needs her status in Korea and your relationship documented. Tell us the details and we will recommend the right route.
10. Can I be refused entry even with a visa or K-ETA?
Yes. Both give you permission to travel to Korea and request entry, and the immigration officer at the airport makes the final decision. We prepare a pack with your return ticket, accommodation and itinerary so you arrive ready.
11. What if I do not have every document on the list?
Most applicants do not. Send us what you have and we will work out what is genuinely needed for your category and what can be evidenced another way.
12. What exactly am I paying you for?
The right visa category identified, a thorough review of your documents against its checklist, a clear list of anything else worth obtaining, your relatives in Korea briefed where relevant, and the full application prepared, lodged and tracked to a decision. The decision belongs to the Korean embassy. Everything within your control, we handle.
Whether you hold a passport that needs a Korean visa outright, or an exempt one where K-ETA has been refused, the answer is the same: a properly documented application, assessed by a person. Send us your passport details and travel dates and we will get started.
