South Korea extends pilot program of issuing group tourist visas to Vietnam

South Korea has just announced a two-year extension of its pilot program to expand group tourist visas for citizens of three Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam.

Tourists visit Suncheon Bay (South Korea). (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

On June 27, the South Korean Ministry of Justice announced a two-year pilot program to expand the issuance of group tourist visas for citizens of three Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

This scheme has been piloted since June last year to attract tourists from the three countries.

The group visa category for "corporate incentive travel and sightseeing tours of over 5 people" is changed to "regular travel groups of over 3 people."

Group tourist visa is a type of visa with simplified application process and visa assessment procedures.

Thanks to the effectiveness of this regime, the number of group visitors entering Korea from Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia doubled from 23,781 people at the beginning of 2023 to 47,397 people at the end of that year.

The number of group visitors from the three countries entering Korea in the first five months of 2024 reached 56,427 people, maintaining an upward trend.

However, the Korean Ministry of Justice also pointed out that there are still cases of people staying illegally in Korea to find work, so the ministry will continue to consider whether to officially implement the above regime or not.

In the second half of 2023, the rate of group tourists from the three Southeast Asian countries who absconded and stayed in Korea averaged 0.2%.

The Korean Ministry of Justice is collecting opinions from relevant agencies and travel businesses to promote improvements to the visa issuance regime./.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/han-quoc-gia-han-thi-diem-cap-visa-du-lich-theo-doan-doi-voi-viet-nam-5013137.html