C-3 short-term visit visa: 90-day stays, no paid work, few extensions

Foreigners who come to Korea for a short business trip, a family visit, a conference or tourism and need a visa usually receive short-term visit status, C-3 (단기방문). This guide sets out the rules as of October 2026, based on the Ministry of Justice (법무부) manuals and the Immigration Act (출입국관리법).

What C-3 allows

C-3 covers stays of up to 90 days for market research, business contacts, consultations and contracts, tourism, transit, medical treatment, family visits, friendly matches, events and conferences, culture and arts, general training, short courses, religious ceremonies and academic research (Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, Annex 1). It is not issued to anyone who comes to earn money. Pay that does not exceed your living costs in Korea is allowed in some cases, but paid work is not.

• Installing or maintaining imported machines, or supervising ship and plant building for a Korean client, counts as paid work even if your salary comes from abroad. These need short-term employment (C-4) or trade management (D-9) status.
• Short paid jobs such as performances, modelling, lectures, research or technical guidance need C-4.
• Working without a status that allows work is punishable by up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to ₩30,000,000, and the same applies to the employer (Immigration Act, Articles 18 and 94). It is also a ground for removal from Korea (Article 46).

The C-3 subtypes

Medical tourists are invited by a hospital or agency registered to attract foreign patients under the Medical Overseas Expansion Act (의료해외진출법). If the institution signs a personal guarantee for the patient, proof of funds can be skipped. Under the Korea-Chile FTA, Chilean business visitors can receive a stay of up to 6 months.

Validity, length of stay and extensions

• A single-entry visa is valid for 3 months from issue (Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act, Article 12), and each stay lasts up to 90 days.
• A double-entry visa, for two entries within 6 months, gives 30 days per stay for C-3-1 to C-3-6.
• Multiple-entry C-3 visas valid for 1, 3, 5 or 10 years are issued to some applicants under rules set by nationality.
• People who entered Korea 4 or more times in the last 2 years, or 10 or more times in total with at least one entry in the last 2 years, can apply for a multiple visa of up to 5 years with 30-day stays and no fee. Nationals of China and some other countries cannot use this route.
• Foreign nationals of Korean descent can get a 5-year multiple C-3-8 visa with 90-day stays, whatever their country.
• An extension inside Korea is possible only up to 90 days from entry, when the immigration office (출입국·외국인관서) accepts the need and sees no sign of illegal work. Examples are no flight home, an unexpected accident or illness, or a delayed shipment for a business visitor. Group tourists (C-3-2) can extend only for unavoidable reasons such as having no flight home.

Applying for the visa

Apply at a Korean embassy or consulate (재외공관) with the visa application, Form No. 17 (별지 제17호서식), your passport, one photo, the fee and papers that prove your purpose. Each embassy sets the exact list for its country, for example an invitation letter with the inviting company's business registration for business visitors, or up to two kinds of proof of funds for tourists.

Embassies may charge other amounts under reciprocity, with Ministry of Justice approval, and set the amount in local currency.

Some C-3 visas are issued online as e-visas through the Korea Visa Portal (대한민국 비자포털, visa.go.kr): frequent business visitors (C-3-4), group tourists booked through designated agencies (C-3-2), and medical tourists invited by institutions the Minister of Justice has designated. A certificate for confirmation of visa issuance (사증발급인정서), which the inviter applies for in Korea, is valid for 3 months and can be used for one visa only (Enforcement Rule, Article 18).

The inviter's personal guarantee

When the rules require it, the Korean inviter signs a personal guarantee (신원보증서). Under Article 90 of the Immigration Act, the Ministry of Justice can make the guarantor pay all or part of the foreigner's costs of stay, detention and departure, recover costs the state has paid, and require a deposit of up to ₩3,000,000 per person. A guarantee lasts 4 years at most (Enforcement Rule, Article 77). Check the visitor's identity, purpose and funds before you sign.

Changing status after entry

When an embassy issues a C-3 visa, it must tell the applicant that a change of status after entry will not be allowed (Enforcement Rule, Article 9(1)). A C-3 visitor who wants to study, work or settle normally has to leave and apply abroad for the right visa. The manuals allow a few exceptions, for example a foreign spouse of a Korean citizen who is pregnant or raising the couple's child, or an overseas Korean who changes to F-4 when the required papers can be checked inside Korea. The old route from C-3-8 to the visit and work status (H-2) has closed: new H-2 visas stopped on February 12, 2026, when the statuses for overseas Koreans were merged into F-4.

Checklist

• Match your purpose to the right subtype; paid work needs C-4 or another work status.
• Check your embassy's document list and its fee in local currency.
• Keep each stay within 90 days, or 30 days on double-entry and frequent-visitor visas.
• Apply for any extension before your stay ends, with proof of the reason.
• Inviters: read the guarantee duties before you sign.