Korea Working Holiday Visa: France vs Germany vs UK (2026)

Japanese reader? Read this guide in Japanese. 自動翻訳です。重要な手続きは英語の原文か日本語PDFを優先してください。
Korea Working Holiday Visa 2026 - Comparison Edition

Three passports, one visa-free window, and almost nothing else in common once you look past the 90 days. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are the only three nationalities in this series admitted to Korea under an actual bilateral treaty — not a designation the Ministry of Justice can revoke on its own, which is what covers Australian and American passports instead. That legal detail matters less for the 90-day tourist stay and much more for anyone planning to stay longer: the three treaty countries diverge hard on working-holiday terms, visa fees, and — in Germany's case — a status-conversion rule the other nationalities in this series don't get at all.

Why These Three Are Grouped Together: Treaty, Not Designation

Every visa-free arrangement Korea offers runs on one of two legal mechanisms. A treaty is a signed bilateral instrument that requires formal renegotiation to change. A designation is a unilateral decision by Korea's Minister of Justice that can be added, narrowed, or withdrawn without touching any agreement — which is the basis for Australian and American 90-day entry.

🇫🇷 France
In force since12 April 1967
The oldest visa exemption agreement Korea has in Europe — seven years older than Germany's.
🇩🇪 Germany
In force since24 January 1974
Re-entry permit requirement waived for registered residents since 14 April 1997.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
In force since19 December 1989
The instrument carries no accumulation ceiling.

The 90 Days and K-ETA in 2026

All three work identically on the basics. You get 90 days visa-free, which cannot normally be extended or changed from inside Korea — you either leave, or you convert into a long-term status before it runs out. All three passports are exempt from K-ETA through 31 December 2026 under the temporary waiver, so there is nothing to apply for; you complete the e-Arrival Card instead, or apply for K-ETA voluntarily, which exempts you from the arrival card.

Leaving and re-entering does start a fresh 90 days — Korea has no universal rolling-window rule, and none of these three treaties sets an accumulation ceiling. But admission is still the immigration officer's discretion under Article 12(4) of the Immigration Act. No published rule caps repeat entries, but a visible pattern of back-to-back 90-day stays is the kind of thing that invites questions at the counter.

Working Holiday (H-1), Side by Side

This is where the three passports stop looking alike. Duration, cost, and what happens when the visa ends are all genuinely different.

🇫🇷 France — H-1 Working Holiday
Duration1 year
Age range18–30
Annual quota2,000
Visa feeFree (reciprocal)
Apply atKVAC Paris
Converts to E-7?No
France charges Korean nationals no visa fee, so reciprocity makes the H-1 free. But France is one of eight nationalities in the wider system that cannot convert H-1 into a professional or E-7 status — when the year ends, the only way forward is a different visa obtained abroad.

Korea Stay Visa Kit 2026 — France edition, $29 →

🇩🇪 Germany — H-1 Working Holiday
Duration1 year
Age range18–34
Annual quotaNone
Work-hours cap1,300 hrs/yr (~25/wk)
Visa feeUSD 50 / 50 / 70 / 80*
Apply atKVAC Berlin
Converts to E-7?Yes
Germany is not on the E-7/professional exclusion list, so the H-1 can lead directly into skilled work. *Free for several applicant categories — check current KVAC Berlin fee notice.

Korea Stay Visa Kit 2026 — Germany edition, $29 →

🇬🇧 United Kingdom — H-1 Working Holiday
DurationUp to 2 years (1 + 1)
Age range18–35
Annual quota5,000
Visa feeUSD 130 / 200 / 220 / 250
Apply atKVAC London
Converts to E-7?No
The longest working holiday of the three and the largest quota — but also the most expensive fee schedule of any nationality in this series, and one of eight that cannot convert H-1 into E-7. When the two years end, the only way forward is a different visa obtained abroad.

Korea Stay Visa Kit 2026 — UK edition, $29 →

Converting to a Long-Term Visa From Inside Korea

Most nationalities in this series can only change from a visa-free stay to a long-term status under six narrow exceptions. Germany is the outlier: every long-term status except D-3, E-9, and H-1 can be applied for directly from a visa-free entry — no other nationality in the entire 8-country series gets this. In practice, a German passport holder can walk in visa-free and apply for E-7 professional work without the "high-technology detour" everyone else has to take.

E-2 English-teaching eligibility follows a separate, nationality-based list of seven recognized English mother-tongue countries. The United Kingdom is on that list; France and Germany are not — regardless of where either passport holder actually learned English.

So Which Passport Has the Real Advantage?

It depends on what you're optimizing for, not which country sounds more generous. France is the cheapest possible way to test out a year in Korea — free H-1, no strings — but it's a dead end if you want to keep working afterward. The UK buys the most time (two years) and the biggest quota, at the highest price tag of any nationality here, with the same dead end at the finish. Germany is the only one of the three built for someone seriously considering staying: cheaper than the UK, unlimited quota, and an actual bridge into long-term work status that the other two — and six other nationalities in this series — simply don't have.

Staying in Korea Long-Term, or With a Partner

None of the working-holiday math above answers the question a lot of readers are actually asking: how to stay in Korea for reasons that have nothing to do with a gap year. If that's the situation, two existing guides cover it directly — the student-visa route couples actually use, and whether leaving Korea really resets your 90-day clock.

Common Questions

Do France, Germany, and the UK need a K-ETA for Korea in 2026?
No. All three are exempt through 31 December 2026 under the temporary waiver and complete the e-Arrival Card instead. Applying for K-ETA voluntarily is allowed and exempts you from the arrival card.

Does leaving Korea and coming back reset the 90 days?
Yes, the period starts again on each new entry — none of these three treaties sets an accumulation ceiling. Whether you're admitted is still the immigration officer's discretion under Article 12(4) of the Immigration Act.

Can a French or British working holiday be converted into a work visa?
No. Both are among eight nationalities in this series that cannot convert H-1 into a professional or E-7 status. Germany is the exception.

Is the UK really the most expensive working holiday visa to apply for?
Yes — USD 130/200/220/250 depending on entry type, versus Germany's USD 50/50/70/80 and France's fee-free arrangement.

Can Germans really apply for E-7 straight from a visa-free stay?
Yes. Germany is excluded from the standard six-exception rule that applies to nearly every other nationality, and can apply for almost any long-term status — except D-3, E-9, and H-1 — directly from visa-free entry.

A Different Passport?

This guide covers only the three treaty-based nationalities. If you're holding a different passport, Korea's 90-day arrangements work differently: United States · Canada · Australia · Russia · Japan · Compare every passport at once

Sources

Immigration Act, Article 12(4) — law.go.kr
K-ETA temporary exemption notice — k-eta.go.kr
HiKorea visa & status-change guidance — hikorea.go.kr
Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC) fee schedule — visaforkorea.eu

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