South Korea Passport Ranking 2026 — Rank, Power & Mobility

How strong is the South Korea passport

The South Korea passport ranks #20 of 199 in the 2026 passport index with a mobility score of 169.7. It is stronger than 179 passports — visa-free to 116 countries and easy access to 184.

stronger ↑

Poland

#19

122 visa-free · score 169.8

this passport

South Korea

#20

116 visa-free · score 169.7

weaker ↓

Hungary

#21

121 visa-free · score 169.4

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Where the South Korea passport can travel

Every destination by visa status — visa-free, on arrival, e-Visa or required. Tap a country for details.

Visa-free · 116

Albania 90 days → Andorra 90 days → Angola 30 days → Antigua and Barbuda 180 days → Argentina 90 days → Armenia 180 days → Austria 90 days → Bahamas 90 days → Barbados 90 days → Belarus 30 days → Belgium 90 days → Belize 90 days → Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 days → Botswana 90 days → Brazil 90 days → Brunei 30 days → Bulgaria 90 days → Chile 90 days → China 30 days → Colombia 90 days → Costa Rica 180 days → Croatia 90 days → Cyprus 90 days → Czech Republic 90 days → Denmark 90 days → Dominica 180 days → Dominican Republic 90 days → Ecuador 90 days → El Salvador 180 days → Estonia 90 days → Fiji 120 days → Finland 90 days → France 90 days → Gambia 90 days → Georgia 360 days → Germany 90 days → Greece 90 days → Grenada 90 days → Guatemala 90 days → Guyana 30 days → Haiti 90 days → Honduras 90 days → Hong Kong 90 days → Hungary 90 days → Iceland 90 days → Ireland 90 days → Israel 90 days → Italy 90 days → Jamaica 90 days → Japan 90 days → Kazakhstan 30 days → Kiribati 90 days → Kosovo 90 days → Kyrgyzstan 60 days → Laos 30 days → Latvia 90 days → Lesotho 14 days → Liechtenstein 90 days → Lithuania 90 days → Luxembourg 90 days → Macao 90 days → Malaysia 90 days → Malta 90 days → Mauritius 90 days → Mexico 180 days → Micronesia 30 days → Moldova 90 days → Monaco 90 days → Mongolia 90 days → Montenegro 90 days → Morocco 90 days → Mozambique 30 days → Netherlands 90 days → Nicaragua 90 days → North Macedonia 90 days → Norway 90 days → Palestine 90 days → Panama 90 days → Paraguay 30 days → Peru 180 days → Philippines 30 days → Poland 90 days → Portugal 90 days → Romania 90 days → Russia 60 days → Saint Kitts and Nevis 90 days → Saint Lucia 42 days → Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 90 days → San Marino 90 days → Sao Tome and Principe 15 days → Senegal 90 days → Serbia 90 days → Seychelles 90 days → Singapore 90 days → Slovakia 90 days → Slovenia 90 days → South Africa 30 days → Spain 90 days → Swaziland 30 days → Sweden 90 days → Switzerland 90 days → Taiwan 90 days → Tajikistan 30 days → Thailand 60 days → Trinidad and Tobago 90 days → Tunisia 90 days → Turkey 90 days → Ukraine 90 days → United Arab Emirates 90 days → Uruguay 90 days → Uzbekistan 30 days → Vanuatu 120 days → Vatican 90 days → Venezuela 90 days → Vietnam 45 days → Zambia 90 days →

Visa on arrival · 41

Azerbaijan 30 days → Bahrain 30 days → Bangladesh 30 days → Bolivia 30 days → Burundi 30 days → Cambodia 30 days → Cape Verde 30 days → Comoros 30 days → Djibouti 30 days → Egypt 30 days → Ethiopia 30 days → Ghana 30 days → Guinea-Bissau 30 days → India 30 days → Indonesia 30 days → Iran 30 days → Iraq 30 days → Jordan 30 days → Kuwait 30 days → Lebanon 30 days → Madagascar 30 days → Malawi 30 days → Maldives 30 days → Marshall Islands 30 days → Mauritania 30 days → Namibia 30 days → Nepal 30 days → Oman 30 days → Palau 30 days → Qatar 30 days → Rwanda 30 days → Samoa 30 days → Saudi Arabia 30 days → Sierra Leone 30 days → Solomon Islands 30 days → Sri Lanka 30 days → Tanzania 30 days → Timor-Leste 30 days → Tonga 30 days → Tuvalu 30 days → Zimbabwe 30 days →

e-Visa / ETA · 27

Australia 90 days → Benin 90 days → Bhutan 90 days → Burkina Faso 90 days → Cameroon 90 days → Canada 90 days → Cuba 90 days → DR Congo 90 days → Equatorial Guinea 90 days → Gabon 90 days → Guinea 90 days → Ivory Coast 90 days → Kenya 90 days → Libya 90 days → Myanmar 90 days → New Zealand 90 days → Nigeria 90 days → Pakistan 90 days → Papua New Guinea 90 days → Somalia 90 days → South Sudan 90 days → Suriname 90 days → Syria 90 days → Togo 90 days → Uganda 90 days → United Kingdom 90 days → United States 90 days →

Visa required · 14

Afghanistan — → Algeria — → Central African Republic — → Chad — → Congo — → Eritrea — → Liberia — → Mali — → Nauru — → Niger — → North Korea — → Sudan — → Turkmenistan — → Yemen — →

Planning a trip?

Flights

Compare airfares and find the cheapest.

Explore

Hotels

Stays for any budget.

Explore

Travel insurance

Coverage for your whole trip.

Explore

Visa assistance

Help with the application, online.

Explore

Partner links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Where South Korea citizens face the toughest visas

Schengen, the US and the UK count refusals separately. Here are all three rates for the South Korea passport in one place.

The hardest is the US — 24.7% of applications refused, against 11.3% at the most lenient one.

Schengen

11.3%

of applications refused

strictness rank: #72 of 118

+0.4 pp year-over-year

by filing country

United States

24.7%

of applications refused

strictness rank: #114 of 197

+9.8 pp year-over-year

B1/B2 visas

under 2 weeks until the next US interview · Seoul

1 rule changes recorded for this passport in our archive, 1 of them easing · the feed →

10.1% of Canadian applications not approved (all visa types, 30,550 decisions) — different methodology, not comparable with the three above · details →

21 countries accept visa applications right inside South Korea

Schengen in detail: which state refuses South Korea citizens most

# Schengen state Applications Filed in Rate

1 Belgium 322 Seoul 34.8% 2 Austria 263 Seoul 25.5% 3 Netherlands 385 Seoul 19.0% 4 Slovenia 17 Seoul 17.6% 5 Hungary 115 Seoul 15.7% 6 France 681 Seoul 11.7% 7 Italy 785 Seoul 9.7% 8 Poland 104 Seoul 9.6% 9 Lithuania 21 Seoul 9.5% 10 Bulgaria 22 Seoul 9.1% 11 Germany 701 Seoul 9.1% 12 Greece 78 Seoul 9.0% 13 Portugal 136 Seoul 8.8% 14 Croatia 37 Seoul 8.1% 15 Switzerland 286 Seoul 7.3% 16 Finland 50 Seoul 4.0% 17 Spain 825 Seoul 3.4% 18 Czech Republic 307 Seoul 1.0% 19 Romania 14 Seoul 0.0% 20 Slovakia 12 Seoul 0.0%

Methodologies differ: the EC counts by place of filing, the State Department and Home Office by nationality. Read as orders of magnitude.

Popular destinations for the South Korea passport

Whether South Korea citizens need a visa for popular countries — tap for details.

→ South Korea → United Statese-Visa / ETA → → South Korea → United Kingdome-Visa / ETA → → South Korea → JapanVisa-free → → South Korea → United Arab EmiratesVisa-free → → South Korea → ThailandVisa-free → → South Korea → TurkeyVisa-free →

Frequently asked

How strong is the South Korea passport?

The South Korea passport ranks #20 of 199 in the 2026 passport index (mobility score 169.7). It gives visa-free access to 116 countries and easy access to 184 — stronger than 179 passports.

How many countries can South Korea visit visa-free?

116 countries are visa-free, plus more on arrival or with an eTA. See the full list on the "visa-free countries for South Korea" page.

Why does the South Korea passport rank where it does?

The rank is set by the number of visa-free and visa-on-arrival destinations. The South Korea passport sits in the top tier of the 2026 ranking. Positions shift as visa agreements change.

How is the passport ranking calculated?

We sum visa-free, visa-on-arrival and eTA destinations into a mobility score that sets the rank. Same idea as Henley and Arton Capital, on our own 2026 data.

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