South Korea Introduces Medical Tourism Visa

Tagged: asia, Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion, M Visa, Medical Tourism, Medical Tourist, Medical Visa, South Korea

The South Korean government recently launched a new visa category for medical tourists. The foreign tourist visa, called visa M, was designed to accommodate foreign medical tourists to the country to boost the medical tourism industry in South Korea. It is the government’s answer to the medical industry’s requests for the simplification of the visa application process.

There are two kinds of M visas that will be issued to foreign patients- the C3 visa which will be good for 90 days for short-term medical visits and the G1 visa which will be valid for 1 year.

There are also plans for the country’s government to allow hospitals and other companies involved in the medical industry to do marketing and promotions activities to attract more foreign patients to the country.

South Korea aims to become one the major medical tourist destinations not just in Asia but the world. Medical tourists to the country are expected to increase by four-fold by 2012. The government and the private industry are working together to make South Korea a medical tourism hub in Asia. This will help bring more medical travelers to the country, effectively increasing the country’s income from foreign travelers. The Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion was launched with the help of 28 private hospitals and the South Korean government. The Council will promote medical packages to foreign patients and will help hospitals with their marketing strategies to attract foreign patients.