South Korea Expands Smart Entry Service to 18 Countries, No African Nation Listed

• South Korea's Ministry of Justice expanded its Smart Entry Service from 4 to 18 eligible countries to ease congestion at immigration checkpoints
• Travellers aged 17 and above holding passports from qualifying nations can use automated immigration lanes upon arrival in South Korea
• No African country made the updated eligibility list, meaning travellers from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa must still use standard immigration channels

South Korea has significantly widened access to its automated immigration system, the Smart Entry Service, with eligible countries jumping from 4 to 18 under a new policy announced by the Ministry of Justice.

The scheme allows qualifying travellers to pass through automated lanes at immigration checkpoints, cutting queues and speeding up the arrival process.

To use the service, passengers must be at least 17 years old and carry a valid passport from one of the listed nations.

Countries eligible for South Korea's Smart Entry service

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The 18 countries and territories now included are;

1. Australia
2. Czech Republic
3. Finland
4. France
5. Germany
6. Hong Kong
7. Hungary
8. Italy
9. Japan
10. Macao
11. Mexico
12. Netherlands
13. New Zealand
14. Portugal
15. Singapore
16. Taiwan
17. United Arab Emirates
18. United Kingdom

The selection spans Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East, reflecting the origins of many of South Korea's most frequent international visitors. The expansion forms part of the country's broader push to modernise border management infrastructure and handle growing passenger volumes more efficiently.

African travellers still face standard immigration procedures

Despite the wider rollout, not a single African nation appears on the eligibility list. Visitors arriving from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and across the rest of the continent will continue to go through conventional immigration procedures when entering South Korea.

The omission carries weight at a time when African passport holders and governments are increasingly pushing for improved travel access and visa facilitation on the global stage. South Korea has made separate moves in the visa space recently, including exempting citizens of 22 countries from its Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation (K-ETA) requirement, though African nations have largely remained outside those concessions as well.

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For now, African travellers planning trips to South Korea should expect the standard immigration process to remain in place, with no automated lane access available to them under the current policy.

Source: YEN.com.gh