Korea Medical Tourism: How the Accredited Facilitator System Works

Foreign patients coming to Korea for medical treatment can enter under C-3-3 through two pathways depending on who is inviting them:

Standard facilitator: Any medical institution or facilitator agency registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare (보건복지부) as a foreign patient recruitment organization can sponsor a C-3-3 visa. However, standard facilitators must submit full financial documentation for their patients.

Outstanding facilitator (우수 유치기관): A subset of registered facilitators who have received a Ministry of Justice 'outstanding facilitator' designation. Outstanding facilitators are identified through an annual review committee held every September–October. Their patients receive a key benefit: financial proof documents are waived. This significantly simplifies the patient's visa application.

If your Korean medical provider is an accredited outstanding facilitator:

1. No financial sufficiency documents required: You do not need to submit bank statements, income certificates, or other financial proof when applying for C-3-3 through an outstanding facilitator. For standard facilitators, this documentation is required.
2. Online CVI application: The outstanding facilitator applies for your Visa Issuance Confirmation (사증발급인정서) online through the Korea e-Government visa portal, instead of through a paper-based process
3. Faster processing: The combination of online submission and waived financial documents typically means faster CVI issuance

When evaluating Korean medical providers, asking whether they hold outstanding facilitator designation is a practical question that affects your visa experience.

C-3-3 visa stay periods depend on your treatment duration:

Short treatment (under 90 days):

• Status: (short-stay)
• Stay period: up to 90 days per entry
• Visa types available: single-entry (3-month validity), double-entry (3-month validity), or multiple-entry (up to 1-year validity)

Long-term treatment (90 days or more):

• Status: (Other Humanitarian)
• Stay period: up to 1 year
• Issued as a long-stay multiple-entry visa

For the 22 designated high-risk countries (including China, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and Peru): only single-entry or double-entry visas are issued for C-3-3, regardless of treatment duration under the short-stay tier.

Foreign patients may bring companions for care and support. As of the December 2025 update to the visa manual, eligible companions include:

• Spouse
• Direct family members (직계가족)
• Siblings (형제·자매) — added in the December 2025 expansion
• Designated caregivers — added in the December 2025 expansion

Companions receive the same visa type and stay period as the patient. A separate family relationship proof document is required for spouses and direct family (marriage certificate or family register). For siblings and designated caregivers, appropriate relationship documentation applies.

For patients using a standard (non-outstanding) facilitator:

1. CVI application form
2. Passport copy and photo
3. Medical documentation issued by the Korean hospital confirming the medical purpose of visit
4. Financial sufficiency documents (bank statements, etc.) demonstrating ability to cover treatment and living costs
5. Business registration certificate copy (사업자등록증) of the inviting facilitator
6. Facilitator registration certificate copy (유치기관 등록증)
7. For family companions: family relationship documents (marriage certificate, family register, or birth certificate)

For patients through an outstanding facilitator: items 4 above (financial documents) are waived. All other documents remain required.

Two-step verification:

Step 1 — Ministry of Health and Welfare registration: Check the Korea Medical Tourism website (www.visitmedicalkorea.com) or the Ministry of Health and Welfare's foreign patient facilitator registry. Registration is required to legally recruit foreign patients.

Step 2 — Ministry of Justice outstanding designation: Contact the hospital or agency directly and ask if they hold the Ministry of Justice 'outstanding facilitator' (우수 유치기관) designation. This designation is reviewed annually. You can also ask them to show you the designation certificate (valid for the current designation year).

Using a non-registered agency to arrange medical care in Korea means your C-3-3 visa cannot be sponsored through them — you would need to apply through a different route (e.g., general short-stay with medical documentation, or through the hospital directly if it has its own registration).