Many English guides say anyone applying for a long-stay visa to Korea needs a tuberculosis (TB) test. Korean rules are narrower. The requirement applies to nationals of 35 countries that Korea classes as high-risk for tuberculosis, and the paper you submit depends on where you apply.
Inside Korea, the case that matters most is a change of status. Say you are a national of one of the 35 countries and entered on a short-term status. To stay beyond 90 days, you attach a TB certificate from a public health center or a designated hospital. This guide covers who is included, what the test involves, what it costs, and what the rules say happens if tuberculosis is found.
Who has to submit a TB certificate
Rules verified October 2026 · Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act, Annexes 5 and 5-2 · Ministry of Justice announcement of 31 March 2020
The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Welfare set the list of high-risk countries (결핵고위험국가). It started with 18 countries in 2016, added Laos in 2017, and added 16 more on 1 April 2020. A Korean embassy notice revised in October 2025 lists the same 35.
| Region | Countries |
|---|---|
| Asia and Oceania (17) | Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam |
| Central Asia and Europe (9) | Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan |
| Africa (8) | Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe |
| Americas (1) | Peru |
The rule is built around this list. Check it before you book a test.
For pregnant women, the notice treats the paper as a later submission. It can go in with the next stay permit application after the birth, such as an extension or a change of status.
When it is required inside Korea
Annex 5-2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act lists the paper under a change of status. It covers a national of a high-risk country who entered on a short-term status. That person applies to change status in order to stay beyond 90 days. The annex adds “and other cases the Minister of Justice sets.”
| Situation | Paper named in the rule | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Changing from a short-term status to stay beyond 90 days, inside Korea | TB confirmation (결핵확인서) | A public health center or a hospital designated by the Minister of Justice |
| Applying for a long-stay visa at a Korean embassy or consulate | TB health certificate (결핵 건강진단서) | A hospital designated by that embassy or consulate |
| A registered foreign resident applying for a new visa after six straight months or more in a high-risk country within the past year | TB health certificate (결핵 건강진단서) | A hospital designated by that embassy or consulate |
The same kind of paper goes by several names. The rules use 결핵확인서 inside Korea and 결핵 건강진단서 abroad. Hi Korea titles its form 결핵진단서, and a Seoul district health center calls its paper 외국인 결핵검진 확인서. Inside Korea, health centers and designated hospitals use the Hi Korea form.
What the test involves
Hi Korea publishes the form for health centers and designated hospitals. It records your passport number, nationality and address in Korea, then the test in up to two stages.
| Stage | Korean box | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| Chest X-ray | 흉부 X선 검사 | Normal (정상), or findings that suggest tuberculosis (결핵 유소견). Findings unrelated to tuberculosis are marked normal |
| Lab tests, only after TB findings | 객담 도말 검사 · 결핵균 및 리팜핀 내성 검사 (Xpert MTB/RIF) · 객담 배양 검사 | Sputum smear, TB bacteria and rifampicin resistance, and sputum culture, done at the same time |
| Decision | 판정 | TB patient (drug-susceptible or multidrug-resistant), not a TB patient, or decision on hold |
A decision on hold lasts until the sputum culture result is in. The form puts that at one to two months, so a clear X-ray is the fast path. Since April 2020, drug-resistance testing has been mandatory for foreign residents with TB findings.
Where to get it and what it costs
Fee example verified October 2026 · Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center service page
Hi Korea names two places: a hospital designated by the Minister of Justice, or a public health center. Hi Korea’s list of designated hospitals, dated 30 September 2026, names 1,125 institutions. Items differ by hospital, so call before you visit.
Fees and processes can differ from one health center to the next. The table below is one example: the Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center in Seoul.
| Item | Dongdaemun-gu example |
|---|---|
| Fee | 1,500 KRW |
| Time to result | 4 days. Group screenings can make the wait longer |
| What to bring | Passport and Alien Registration Card |
| Test | Chest X-ray, with a sputum test if the X-ray shows findings |
Treat these as one center’s numbers, not a national price. Check the page of the health center that serves your address before you go.
What happens if tuberculosis is found
The 2020 announcement by the two ministries sets out the policy. Individual cases are decided by the immigration office.
To lift a visa restriction after treatment, a Korean embassy notice asks for four documents. They are a TB certificate, a treatment result confirmation, a treatment progress record, and results from two or more sputum tests. For your own case, ask the immigration office or call 1345.
What changes if you apply from abroad
A long-stay visa application from outside Korea follows the embassy’s own notice. Each mission names its own designated hospitals. The notice checked here gives a validity of three months from the date of issue, and requires a chest X-ray first. If the X-ray is not normal, three sputum samples taken 24 hours apart are tested by smear and culture.
Health checks at foreign resident registration are a separate matter.
Those registration papers are different documents from the TB certificate, even where they include a chest X-ray. Check both rules if your visa and nationality fall under each of them.
What to say at the counter
A health center desk runs in Korean. Show the Korean line on your phone, or read the romanized line aloud.
Frequently asked questions
Official sources
Every figure here comes from the pages below. Rules change, so open the page before you act on it.