South Korea business visa
Many nationalities breeze into Korea on a K-ETA waiver; Indian passport holders are not among them. There is no visa-on-arrival for the mainland either, so a business trip has to be cleared before you board. The right category is the C-3-4 Short-Term Business visa, a branch of the C-3 short-term visit class, and it covers the non-remunerative side of business travel — meetings, negotiations, consultations, conferences, exhibitions, market research and contract signing.
You apply in India at the Korea Visa Application Center, run by VFS Global in New Delhi and Kolkata and by BLS International in Mumbai and Hyderabad, or directly at the Korean Embassy and Consulates. Korea has gone label-free: nothing is pasted into your passport. Once the visa is approved, you download and print a Visa Grant Notice from the official Korea Visa Portal (visa.go.kr) and show it alongside your passport at immigration. A complete file is usually decided in about 10 working days.
Who this visa is for
- ✓Indian passport holders travelling to South Korea for short-term, non-remunerative business — meetings, negotiations, consultations, conferences, exhibitions, market research or contract signing
- ✓Applicants invited or sponsored by a Korean host company or business partner
- ✓Salaried employees, company directors or business owners in India with a genuine business reason and demonstrable ties to India
- ✓Not for taking up paid employment in Korea, which falls under a separate category we do not handle
Visa options for South Korea
C-3-4 Short-Term Business
The standard single- or double-entry business visa for meetings, negotiations, consultations, conferences and market research. Single entry is valid 3 months; double entry 6 months.
C-3-4 Multiple-Entry
Longer-validity version (up to 5 years) for frequent business travellers, granted at the embassy's discretion; each individual stay remains short-term.
Documents typically required
- ✓Passport valid at least 6 months beyond the intended stay, with two blank pages, plus a photocopy of the first and last pages and any old passports
- ✓Completed Korean visa application form (printed and signed) with one recent colour photograph, 35mm x 45mm, white background
- ✓Invitation letter from the Korean host company stating the applicant's details, purpose and dates of visit, and the Korean company's contact and financial responsibility
- ✓Business Registration Certificate of the Korean host company, issued within the last 3 months
- ✓Covering / request letter from the Indian applicant's employer on company letterhead describing the purpose of travel
- ✓Proof of employment (employment certificate) or, for business owners, the applicant's own company registration and GST documents
- ✓Financial documents: last two years' income tax returns (ITR) and personal bank statements for the last six months
- ✓Copy of the applicant's Aadhaar card, required from Indian applicants
- ✓Flight tickets and hotel booking or accommodation details for the trip
Your exact checklist depends on your profile — we confirm it during your case analysis. Every visa decision rests with the embassy or consulate.
Indian citizens can't use South Korea's K-ETA visa-waiver, and there's no visa-on-arrival for the mainland, so the C-3-4 visa has to be in hand before travel. You apply in India at the Korea Visa Application Center — operated by VFS Global (New Delhi and Kolkata) and BLS International (Mumbai and Hyderabad) — or at the Korean Embassy and Consulates. The system is label-free: after approval you download and print a Visa Grant Notice from the official Korea Visa Portal (visa.go.kr) and present it with your passport at immigration. The consular fee starts at ₹3,400 for a single entry up to 90 days (revised 1 June 2025), plus the center's service charge. Jeju Island is separately visa-free for up to 30 days, but that concession does not cover business travel to mainland Korea.
Frequently asked questions
Do Indian passport holders need a visa for a business trip to South Korea?
Yes. India isn't on Korea's visa-waiver / K-ETA list, and there's no visa-on-arrival for the mainland. You'll need a C-3-4 short-term business visa, arranged through the Korea Visa Application Center in India before you travel.
Will I get a visa sticker in my passport?
No — Korea has moved to a label-free system, so nothing goes into the passport. After approval you download and print a Visa Grant Notice from the official Korea Visa Portal (visa.go.kr) and present it together with your passport at immigration on arrival.
How long does the C-3-4 visa take and how long can I stay?
A complete application usually clears in about 10 working days, and roughly 10 more if an interview or additional documents are requested. A single-entry visa is generally valid for 3 months and permits a short-term stay of up to 90 days per entry; multiple-entry visas valid up to 5 years may be granted at the embassy's discretion.
Do you guarantee the visa?
No. That call rests solely with the Korean Embassy/Consulate and immigration authorities. What we do is give you a frank, honest read on your case and make the application as strong and complete as possible. Over the last 2-3 years our applications have seen a 97% success rate, but no consultant can guarantee an outcome.