I came to Korea with a K-ETA electronic travel permit, but my entry was denied

<Question> I am from Thailand. I applied for the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization K-ETA to enter Korea. At first, the permit was not granted, and when I applied for the second time, the permit was granted. I arrived at Incheon International Airport on a plane with 5 friends with joy, but the immigration officials refused me to enter the country. An immigration official said that the reason for refusal of entry was because I had been rejected 1 or 2 times by K-ETA. All 5 people I went with were people like me who didn't get K-ETA at once. So all five of them were also denied entry. Any explanations were to no avail, and we had to return to Thailand in the end. What are the K-ETA standards? I really wanted to travel to Korea, but I lost my will.

<Answer> I would be very upset and angry if I arrived at the airport and was denied entry even though I got the K-ETA electronic travel permit. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice Electronic Travel Authorization Center's answer is that the K-ETA permit does not guarantee entry into Korea.

Unfortunately, there are cases where even if people try to enter Korea after getting a visa from a local diplomatic mission, they may be denied entry at Incheon Airport. According to immigration officials, the airport filters out for those who are ineligible for entry into Korea that the local diplomatic mission did not filtered out all ineligible people during the visa screening process.

It is the exclusive right of the country to deny entry of foreigners at the airport. This is also true when Koreans go to other countries. Any country may allow or deny entry to foreigners at the judgement of the immigration authorities.

Then you can claim to know the reason why your entry is denied. However, it is not easy to determine the reason for refusal of entry. If you personally ask the reason for refusal of entry at the airport, it is difficult to get an answer and you will need to hire an attorney. This is also similar to other countries.

In the case of the questioner, if you have been denied entry even after getting K-ETA permission, but still want to go to Korea, go to the embassy and apply for a visa. If you have been issued a visa, you can try to re-enter the country, and if your visa is denied, you can ask the visa consul for the reason for the refusal.

Legal Consultation for Foreign Residents ‘Papaya Story Living Legal Visa Support Center’ English 031-8001-0211 / Law Firm (Limited) Min ‘Immigration Legal Support Team’ 02-3477-5550, email beobil2002@lawmin.net