PRE-DEPARTURE NEGATIVE COVID-19 TEST RESULT REQUIREMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL ARRIVAL
◇ The requirement for submission of a PCR negative certificate for overseas entry will become more strictly strengthened, beginning on January 20, 2022.
* (JAN 13, 2022~)The testing must have been performed, and a certificate must have been issued, within 72 hours before the departure date
→ (JAN 20,2022~) The testing must have been performed, and a certificate must have been issued, within 48 hours before the departure date
Category | Requirement |
① Test type (Method) | ‣ It needs to be based on nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). * PCR tests based on DNA amplification (RT-PCR, LAMP, TMA, SDA, NEAR, etc.) are valid; antigen/antibody detection tests (RAT, ELISA, etc.) are not valid. * All forms of self-administered tests are NOT valid regardless of test type. |
② Time of testing and issuance of PCR negative certification | ‣ From JAN 20. 2022, The testing must have been performed, and the PCR negative certificate must have been issued, within 48 hours (two days) before the departure date. * (Example) If you are leaving at 10:00 on January 14, 2022, only a testing which was performed, and a PCR negative certificate which was issued, after 0:00 on January 11, 2022, are accepted. ※ Even if the testing was conducted prior to the 48-hour period, a certificate will be accepted(until January 19, 2022). |
③ Required items | ‣ Name*, date of birth**, test method, test date, test result, date of issuance, and name of testing center should be included in the test result. * The name on the test result needs to match the name on the passport (middle name can be omitted as long as the other names are identical) ** Passport number or national ID number is acceptable in lieu of date of birth |
④ Test result | ‣ The test result must be NEGATIVE. * If the test result is “INDETERMINATE”, “UNCLEAR”, or “POSITIVE”, the relevant result is invalid. |
⑤ Language | ‣ The test method must be written in Korean or English. * If the test method is written in a language other than Korean or English, a translated copy of the test result in Korean or English needs to be submitted together with a certificate of translation. (If the test result was translated by individual translators, the translated document needs to be certified by a notary office or Korean embassy.) |
⑥ Testing center | ‣ For sea and air travelers departing from the Philippines and Uzbekistan, the negative PCR test result needs to be issued by one of the government-designated testing centers. * The list of countries with the designated testing center requirement are subject to change and will be updated on the websites of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Korean embassies. * As for other countries, negative PCR test results issued by any testing center in the country is valid. |
※ Make sure to check the arrival procedure for each country on the websites of diplomatic missions abroad prior to departure (http://overseas.mofa.go.kr).
○ Children under 6 as of the date of arrival (only if all the accompanying persons traveling with the child have submitted valid negative test results)
○ Individuals with quarantine exemption certificates for humanitarian (attending funerals) or official business reasons.
※ The exemption of test requirement for foreign nationals with quarantine exemption certificates for above purposes is effective from 18 November 2021 (The exemption is already applied for Korean nationals).
○ Flight crew
○ Individuals who departed from Korea for another country but were denied entry or otherwise did not go through with the entry procedure at another country before returning to Korea. This applies to both Korean nationals and foreign nationals, and the burden of proof is on the traveling individual.
○ Korean sailors departing from Singapore, who hold “Seafarer’s Book of Republic of Korea”
※ Subject to change according to the COVID-19 situation overseas
○ (Before entry) If you do not have a PCR negative certificate or have a certificate which does not meet the requirements, you will not be allowed to board the aircraft.
※ A person who is exempt from submission of a PCR negative certificate is allowed to board the airplane even if he or she does not have a certificate, or if the certificate does not meet the requirements.
○ (After entry) If a person submits a PCR negative certificate which does not meet the requirements, a Korean national must be quarantined for five days at a facility designated by the government (a fee of 120,000 won a day should be paid by the person himself or herself) and subsequently quarantine himself or herself for five days.
- A foreign national is not allowed to enter the country.
※ If a person who is exempt from submission of a PCR negative certificate submits a certificate which does not meet the requirements, he or she must in principle quarantine himself or herself for ten days (except for a Korean sailor arriving from Singapore with a Seafarer’s Book of Republic of Korea).