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Some trips mean a health declaration when you enter Korea, even with no symptoms

Mr. Latte

Whether you need to declare your health when you enter Korea depends first on where you have been, not on how you feel. Of the two lists the KDCA sets every quarter, a visit to a priority quarantine control area means you declare even without symptoms, and a visit to a quarantine control area means you declare if you have symptoms.

The fourth-quarter lists that apply from October 1 newly include Japan and Hong Kong as quarantine control areas, because chikungunya fever occurred in both. If you develop a fever on your way back from Japan or Hong Kong, tell the quarantine officer first when you enter.

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The short version

If you stayed in or passed through a priority quarantine control area, you must declare your health to a quarantine officer when you enter Korea, even if you have no symptoms. If you visited a quarantine control area, you declare when you have suspected symptoms such as a fever or cough. On September 21, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the fourth-quarter designations that apply from October 1, 2026. There are 32 countries on the priority list and 177 on the quarantine control list, and Japan and Hong Kong have been newly added to the quarantine control list. You declare through Q-CODE, which you can fill in from 7 days before arrival, or on a paper health questionnaire. Not declaring, or declaring falsely, can bring a fine of up to 10 million won.

Deadlines that matter

  • Fourth-quarter designations take effect

    By when: From Thursday, October 1, 2026

    If you miss it: If you enter in October and only look at the third-quarter list, you miss the newly added places. This time Brazil, the US state of Michigan, and China's Anhui and Jiangsu provinces were added to the priority list, and Japan and Hong Kong were added to the quarantine control list.

  • Filling in Q-CODE and getting the QR code

    By when: You can start 7 days before arrival in Korea, and should have the QR code before you board

    If you miss it: Without a QR code, you declare on a paper health questionnaire. If you got a QR code through Q-CODE, you do not need to fill in the questionnaire.

  • How long the duty to declare lasts

    By when: Until the maximum incubation period of the relevant disease has passed since you left that area

    If you miss it: If you enter within this period and do not declare, or declare falsely, you can be fined up to 10 million won.

  • Fourth-quarter designation period

    By when: Until December 31, 2026

    If you miss it: A new designation comes out for the next quarter in the new year. The lists have also changed mid-quarter: in the third quarter, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbouring countries became priority areas from September 7.

Right now

  1. 1First check whether the places you visited are on the priority quarantine control list. The list is in the first step below. It has changed in the middle of a quarter before, so check the notices on the KDCA website or the Q-CODE website once more just before you leave.
  2. 2If a place you visited is on the list, enter your passport, ticket, and health status in Q-CODE (qcode.kdca.go.kr) from 7 days before you arrive in Korea, and get your QR code before you board. The site is available in Korean, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese.
  3. 3Even if you are coming from a country that is not on the priority list, tell the quarantine officer when you enter if you have a fever or cough. The fourth-quarter quarantine control list covers 177 countries.

What to have ready

  • Passport: Required to fill in Q-CODE.
  • Plane ticket or ferry ticket: Q-CODE requires a valid plane ticket or ship ticket. The procedure is the same if you arrive by sea.
  • The countries, cities, transit points, and dates of your trip: If there is a risk of a disease spreading, the head of the quarantine station can ask you about the areas and dates of your travel. The US and China are designated by state and province, so note the city names too.
  • Vaccination certificate (if you have one): The head of the quarantine station can ask for documents that prove your vaccinations.
  • The email with your QR code: If your phone cannot download the QR code, you can have it sent by email. Entering an email address is optional.

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

  1. 1

    32 countries require a declaration whether or not you have symptoms

    For the fourth quarter of 2026, 32 countries are designated as priority quarantine control areas, based on five diseases. For plague: Madagascar, Mongolia, the US state of New Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For human infection with animal influenza: the US states of Michigan and Washington, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, and in China the provinces and cities of Guangdong, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sichuan, Anhui, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Hunan, and Hubei. For Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), 13 countries: Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Qatar, and Kuwait. For Ebola virus disease, 11 countries: South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania. For Nipah virus infection: Bangladesh and India. The US and China are designated by state and province, not as whole countries.

  2. 2

    177 countries require a declaration if you have symptoms

    Quarantine control areas cover 177 countries, based on 15 quarantine infectious diseases. Compared with the third quarter, 7 countries were added and 3 were removed. Japan and Hong Kong were newly added because chikungunya fever occurred there, and the chikungunya designation for China now covers the whole country. Bangladesh was added because of measles. The KDCA said measles cases in the Americas and Southeast Asia rose to about 2 times and 7 times the previous year respectively, and asked travellers to these regions to watch out for measles. If you visited a place on this list, declare to the quarantine officer when you have suspected symptoms such as a fever or cough.

  3. 3

    Passing through counts too

    Article 12-2 of the Quarantine Act lists people who stayed in an area and people who entered via that area side by side. A place where you stopped to change planes counts as transit. The duty to declare lasts until the maximum incubation period of the relevant disease has passed since you left that area. Incubation periods differ by disease, so this guide does not give a number of days. If you left only recently, lean towards declaring.

  4. 4

    Q-CODE opens 7 days before you arrive

    Where:
    qcode.kdca.go.kr

    Q-CODE is an advance entry system the KDCA built to shorten quarantine inspection at entry. You can fill it in from 7 days before you arrive in Korea, and the KDCA asks you to have the QR code before you board. There are five steps: agree to the terms, enter personal details, enter your entry and stay details, enter your health status, and get the QR code. Your passport, ticket, and health information are required, and an email address is optional. According to the KDCA's frequently asked questions, if you got a QR code through Q-CODE you do not need to fill in and hand over a separate health questionnaire.

  5. 5

    If the QR code will not download, switch browsers

    The KDCA lists Samsung Internet and Chrome on Android, and Safari on iPhone, as supported browsers. In other browsers the QR code may not download properly. If it still fails, choose to have the QR code sent to you by email. Save the QR code on your phone in advance in case you cannot get online at the airport.

  6. 6

    If your details change, start again from the beginning

    The quarantine details you enter are encrypted inside the QR code, so they cannot be edited. If something needs to change, fill in the form again from the start and get a new QR code. If your health changes after you get the QR code, for example you develop a fever, you must tell the quarantine officer about the change when you arrive. If you do not, you may face disadvantages such as stronger quarantine measures. The QR code stops being valid once that immigration inspection is complete, so fill it in again the next time you enter Korea.

  7. 7

    At the airport, the quarantine officer can ask for more

    Where:
    The quarantine desk and the overseas infectious disease reporting center in airport and seaport arrival halls

    The KDCA has overseas infectious disease reporting centers in the arrival halls of airports, seaports, and land crossings. If there is a risk of a disease spreading, the head of the quarantine station can ask the person declaring for their travel areas and dates, health information, and vaccination documents, or carry out a test to check for infection. Not following these measures can bring a fine of up to 5 million won. Filling in Q-CODE does not guarantee entry. Whether you are admitted or quarantined is decided after arrival, in the quarantine and immigration inspections.

  8. 8

    The lists change every quarter, and sometimes mid-quarter

    The KDCA reviews infectious disease trends abroad and resets both lists every quarter. They also change mid-quarter: the Q-CODE notices show the third-quarter list posted twice, as of July 1 and as of September 7, and the second-quarter list posted three times. As of September 22, the latest post in the Q-CODE notices is the third-quarter list, and the fourth-quarter list first appeared in the KDCA's September 21 press release. Check both places again as your travel date approaches.

The Korean words

검역geomyeok, Quarantine inspection when you enter the country
It takes place in airport and seaport arrival halls.
검역관geomyeokgwan, Quarantine officer
This is the person you declare your health to.
중점검역관리지역jungjeom geomyeok gwalli jiyeok, Priority quarantine control area
You declare even without symptoms. 32 countries in the fourth quarter of 2026.
검역관리지역geomyeok gwalli jiyeok, Quarantine control area
You declare if you have symptoms. 177 countries in the fourth quarter of 2026.
건강상태질문서geongang sangtae jilmunseo, Paper health questionnaire handed in at entry
Not needed if you got a QR code through Q-CODE.
해외감염병신고센터haeoe gamyeombyeong singo senteo, Overseas infectious disease reporting center
In arrival halls at airports, seaports, and land crossings.
경유gyeongyu, Transit, passing through
A place where you stopped to change planes can also be an area you must declare.
잠복기간jambok gigan, Incubation period
The duty to declare lasts for the maximum incubation period after you leave the area.
치쿤구니야열chikunguniya-yeol, Chikungunya fever, a mosquito-borne disease
The reason Japan and Hong Kong became quarantine control areas in the fourth quarter.
과태료gwataeryo, Administrative fine
Up to 10 million won for not declaring or declaring falsely.

Easy to miss

  • Thinking you are exempt because you only transited. The law lists people who stayed and people who passed through side by side.
  • Thinking there is nothing to declare because you have no symptoms. If you visited a priority quarantine control area, you declare regardless of symptoms.
  • Showing the QR code from your last trip. A QR code stops being valid once that immigration inspection is complete.
  • Developing a fever after getting your QR code and walking through without saying anything. You must tell the quarantine officer about any change in your health when you arrive.
  • Entering in October based on the third-quarter list you saw in September. From October 1, Japan, Hong Kong, and all of China become quarantine control areas for chikungunya fever.
  • Thinking Q-CODE guarantees entry. Whether you are admitted or quarantined is decided in the inspections after you arrive.

You can skip this if

  • If you did not visit a priority quarantine control area and have no symptoms such as a fever or cough, you have no duty to declare your health when you enter.
  • If you left a priority quarantine control area long enough ago that the maximum incubation period of the relevant disease has passed, you are not required to declare.
  • The lists in this guide are the designations for the fourth quarter of 2026, checked on September 22, 2026. When the new year's designations come out, the lists will be rewritten.

Where this comes from

Rules, fees and deadlines change and depend on your exact case. Please confirm the details with the official sources before you act.

Questions and notes

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