I am living in USA and planning to transit Seoul during my trip to India. Does the below itinerary qualify for transit visa?

Delta Airlines Round trip ticket from USA (Direct flight) –> Seoul
Air India Round trip ticket from Seoul –> India

So the trip is :

USA (Direct flight) –> Seoul (stay for 3 days) –> India (stay for 5 days)

and

India (Direct flight) –> Seoul (stay for 2 days) –> USA (Direct flight)

Long story:
I had to visit S.Korea for a conference. A direct flight from USA to S.Korea and back to USA is NOT eligible for the 30 day transit visa. Hence, I booked a flight to an intermediate country (any country) followed by a flight to Inchan.

Just wanted to let you guys know that its safe and everyone is pretty knowledgeable about the 30 day transit visa options.

I Have US B1/B2 visa .. and will be travelling to Chicago.
I am to visit South korea for 2 weeks on my way back ( CHICAGO—-> SEOUL——>DEL)
so in this scenario do i need Visa?
let me know thanks…

i was going through the link: https://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/InfoDetailR_en.pt?categoryId=2&parentId=385&catSeq=401&showMenuId=375
Here in transit bound for another country —-> Applicable to—-> Point (2)

Your article is very useful.

I am a permanent resident of India, living in Sydney. I want to travel as below:

Sydney to Taipei, Taipei to Seoul, Seoul to HongKong and HongKong to Sydney

During the last leg of my journey, I intend to spend only 12 hours in HongKong. Would I need a South Korean visa in this?

Please let me know. Many thanks.

Kind regards
Vicky

It was supposed to be a organized group trip for 14 days. Since I read this article, I did not bother getting a visa (dumb me!). However, when I was at the checkin counter they told me I have to get a onward flight from Korea wihtin 12 hrs of landing (it had to be their own airlines too) otherwise they cannot issue the ticket. They spoke with their customs & immigration officers I believe.

So I bought a refundable (about $1000) ticket to Bangkok to exit Korea within 12 hrs. After that, the Delta/Korean Air people issued me the ticket. All was fine after I landed, they gave me a 30 day transit visa. I immediately cancelled the Bangkok ticket and got all my money back. You should know that you can cancel flight tickets within 24 hrs without penalty! Note: Even thou my exit flight was within 2 hrs of landing, they did not question me anything, does not make sense why they would want to issue me a 30 day transit visa for a 2 hr layover!

On my return, when I was at the counter. They couldn’t issue me the ticket because, i was supposed to go to Bangkok and had no records of me going out or coming in! I explained the situation and they issued me the ticket somehow, but informed me that I may have to answer additional questions at the customs.

I went to the counter, the lady referred me to another officer inside the room. He was very polite and humble. based on their interpretation I can get a free Transit visa, but to visit Korea and go back to the country of origin, I needed a visa. I donot need a visa if i go to a 3rd country after visiting Korea.

I did not argue and asked them what we can do now. He asked me to sign a statement that I will never visit Korea without a visa in the future and I was permitted to clear the customs.

You need a Visa to Korea on your passport if you go back to your country of origin, however if your final destination is not the country of origin you can get a transit visa on arrival.

You could potentially manipulate this by booking an onward flight from your country of origin on your return (US – Korea – US – Canada), but I am not sure if it will work. At least the first time you will get away with a warning!

Hope this helps!