Tourists in Seoul. South Korea is one of the most favourite destinations for Vietnamese tourists. — Photo vov.vn

SEOUL — The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ministry of Justice on Thursday announced the extension of the pilot e-group visa programme for citizens of the Philippines, Indonesia and Việt Nam for an additional two years.

This programme has been applied on a pilot basis since June last year to attract tourists from the three countries.

This visa option is available for groups of at least three members, including company incentive tours, educational tours below the collegiate level, and regular tour groups.

To qualify for this visa, travellers must plan to enter and exit the RoK using the same vessel, flight or other scheduled means of transportation.

Designated travel agencies accredited by the Korean government will handle the e-group visa applications on behalf of the travellers. The agencies will submit the applications online through the Korea Visa Portal.

Thanks to this programme, the number of group visits to the RoK from the Philippines, Indonesia and Việt Nam doubled from 23,781 at the beginning

of 2023 to 47,397 at the end of the year. The number reached 56,427 in the first five months of 2024. — VNS