The South Korean government will exempt some travelers who received a COVID-19 vaccination overseas from the country’s two-week quarantine starting July 1.

Key Points:

  • The following groups will be exempt from the two-week quarantine if they are fully vaccinated overseas with a World Health Organization-approved vaccine:
    • Korean or foreign nationals visiting immediate family members (spouses, parents or children living in South Korea) who are Korean nationals or foreigners holding long-term visas/residence cards.
    • Korean or foreign nationals traveling for important business, academic, humanitarian or public interest purposes.
  • Individuals must have received their last dose of the vaccine at least 14 days prior to submitting a quarantine exemption application.
  • Individuals will still be subject to PCR testing requirements both before and after arrival to South Korea.
  • South Korea had previously exempted residents from the two-week quarantine if they were vaccinated in South Korea; this policy has now been extended to some travelers vaccinated outside of the country as well.

Additional information: Travelers coming from major outbreak areas or areas of variant concern may still be subject to the mandatory quarantine after July 1. Applications for quarantine exemptions should be submitted to local South Korean diplomatic missions. If an individual is traveling for business purposes, he or she must first submit an online application through the Business Traveler Support Center (BTSC) at www.btsc.or.kr and obtain an official letter, which then must be submitted to a Korean diplomatic mission.

BAL Analysis: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, and BAL will provide additional updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by Berry Appleman & Leiden. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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