How to get a North Korean Visa.
I’m here to help all my fellow travellers, that’s my duty and my job. I should have posted this one ages ago as it’s something that I get quite upset about. The reason is, lots of people have asked me questions like “how can you visit North Korea?” and “I thought it was a closed country” etc. etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. North Korea is an EASY country to visit. It’s an EASY visa to get. It’s EASY to organise and even better – it’s one of the safest countries for travellers in the world. Crime against travellers in North Korea is basically non-existent. So put your idiotic media preconceptions in the bin and read on. Here’s an easy guide on how to get a North Korean Visa…
Ready to FLY into North Korea (we flew in, got the train out).
Step 1 – Use a Tour Company (Young Pioneer Tours!)
As North Korea doesn’t have agencies, consulates or even embassies in many (most) countries, then you need to use a tour company to get your visa. This is easy, simply contact the cool guys at Young Pioneer Tours and book onto a tour through them. It will run smoothly. Included in the tour will be the entire visa application. It’s that easy. Even better you can get 5% off by quoting my website – just check this link: cheap North Korea tours.
On tour with YPT in North Korea.
Step 2 – The North Korea Visa Application
To get a North Korea visa, you don’t need to hand in your physical passport, as the visa will be on a piece of paper unattached to your passport – standard procedure (it’s like a sky blue leaflet). This is for global nomads by the way like myself – I have had a few comments below that said you go to the embassy and hand in your passport – but for most of us, we are on the move all the time so this isn’t a viable option – collecting the visa in Beijing is easier – trust me. With Young Pioneer Tours, you just need to submit the following by e-mail or fax to them (normally at least one month before your tour) and once you have it all then your visa will be confirmed. The representative from YPT will give your visa to you in Beijing before the tour starts.
My North Korean Visa.
Follow these four easy steps as part of the North Korean Visa application:
1. Fill in the booking form that YPT send you and email it back to them (or fax it). It’s in 3 sections – Section One is About You (personal stuff like passport, date of birth etc.) – Section Two is About Your Job (current employer, address etc.) – Section Three is About Your Tour (say what tour you’re booking and how you want to pay). There is also the question about your point of entry into North Korea. For those taking the train in, you put Siniuju, for those flying in, you put Pyongyang Airport. By the way if you are a citizen for the United States of America, you MUST fly in and fly out. The train is not an option for you – as far as I know this is the only nationality this applies to. The booking form looks like this, it’s on a single A4 page:
How to get a North Korean Visa: Fill in the booking form.
2. Then complete the DPRK visa form, which YPT will also send you in an attachment, you can fill it in the Word format, or send it as PDF, as long as you have filled in both pages. The questions are straight forward and basic. When it asks for the inviting company, the answer is KITC (Young Pioneer Tours will fill this bit in for you).
The form can be filled in by hand or online. I filled mine in by hand, which I always prefer. You then either scan it in and email it or you fax it to the YPT offices.
Fill it in honestly and fully. There is also no problem with having a South Korean, Japanese or USA stamp in your passport. I had 2 of these 3 stamps in my passport. The North Koreans are not really bothered about this stuff to be honest.
The Visa form looks like this:
How to get a North Korea Visa – Application Form Page 1
How to get a North Korea Visa – Application Form Page 2
3. Then Send These Documents by e-mail/fax:
–a scan of your Passport’s photo page
–a colour passport style photo with a white background for the visa application (a scan of this is also ok, as long as it’s coloured and clear)
–If you are currently working/living in China, a scan of your Chinese residence visa
–If you are currently working/living in Hong Kong, a scan of your HK ID, and a letter from your company saying are you working there
–If you are currently living outside China, a letter from your employer saying you are working there
My Tourist card and passport for North Korea.
4. Pay the tour deposit. For the deposit you should pay in advance 40% of the tour fee. You then pay the final part of the tour fee when you arrive in Beijing. Obviously prices vary depending on the tour you choose.
All YPT tours start in Beijing – either you get a train to Dandong and cross the border into North Korea by train into Sinuiju or you fly from Beijing to Pyongyang. An overview of the flight into North Korea appears on my World Borders Series: How to get from China to North Korea
Once YPT have all the above four points off you, consider your spot on the tour secured!! Relax and get ready to see this country which is wrongly considered a “closed country” sometimes.
Enjoying the sights in North Korea – at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il’s Mausoleum.
Step 3 – Collecting Your North Korean Visa
All visas have to be collected in person in Beijing, China. A meeting point for this will be arranged between you and the YPT representatives. You will also attend a briefing session in Beijing ahead of the tour. This means you will need a DOUBLE entry Chinese Visa in advance of the tour, easy to get in places like Hong Kong, Bangkok or Macau. Or in your home country. Visas on arrival in Beijing are now possible for certain countries, as long as you stay only 72 hours. This type of visa is not possible on arrival at the train border point in Dandong. Head to your nearest Chinese embassy and get a double entry visa just to be safe.
– How to get a China Visa in Hong Kong
– How to get a China Visa on arrival in Beijing
In case you wondered, here is what a North Korean visa/tourist card looks like:
What the entire North Korea Visa looks like.
My North Korean visa/tourist card.
The sky blue cover and tourist card for North Korea.
Our North Korean Visas.
There are a few other issues to consider once you’ve got your North Korean visa and these are:
– The currency you will spend in North Korea is up to you. We chose Chinese RMB for the most part, but as you know, I travel a lot so we also had US Dollars and Euros in our wallets. South Korean Won is certainly not accepted. The local currency North Korean Won is not really for use by foreigners, though you can pick some up for souvenir purposes as I did.
Some of the North Korean banknotes I picked up – use Chinese RMB, Euros or US Dollars when in the country.
– Literature issues – the North Koreans may check your bags and ban literature it doesn’t like. This is rare and indeed my bags were never checked, but a Japanese guy on our tour had a book confiscated as it had something mocking Kim Jong Il in it. If you want my advice – take only the Lonely Planet Korea (Travel Guide)
book just to be sure.
– Cameras and videos – there are no real restrictions on cameras – it’s the same as any other country in the world. Again – don’t believe all the media bullshit you read. I took about 2000 photos and made about 150 videos in the country. Obviously don’t photograph soldiers or the mausoleums (which is fairly standard practice in every country in the world anyway). If you do carry a massive video camera though, you’re likely to attract more attention than it’s worth.
How to get a North Korea Visa – Pre Tour Information
– North Korean Passport Stamps – you will not get a passport stamp inside your actual passport on arrival or departure into North Korea. The passport stamps are placed inside your North Korean Tourist Card/Visa, which is then handed back when you leave the country. If you want a North Korean stamp in your passport, you can get a fake exit stamp at Dorasan station in South Korea and it’s rumoured that one of the land borders to China can also stamp you in or out. Things may change of course, but when we went passports weren’t stamped.
Korean passport stamp from Dorasan Station – the last station in South Korea before crossing the border
– Onward Chinese Visa – this is important – you MUST have an onward Chinese Visa for leaving North Korea and back into China, more important for those taking the train as visas cannot be issued on arrival at Dandong. You don’t want to waste a day of your trip to the DPRK visiting the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang to sort out a last minute visa. Get this in advance guys!!
That’s it all sorted then folks – get your visa and get over to North Korea! Here are a few of my posts from backpacking through the place:
– Watching the Mass Games Pyongyang North Korea
– Top 5 Bars in Pyongyang North Korea
To me, it all seems so expensive and complicated :-//. My last time I struggled with getting a travel permit and visa was last year when me and Cez tried to get to Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. Nightmare! A lot of paper work involved and money spent :(.
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This is quite fascinating. when I first saw the link I thought “why would I ever want to visit NK?” but this has definitely given be a fresh perspective and to consider this mysterious country as one of the site visits I should make. Thanks for posting!
North Korea is definitely on my bucket list, and it’s great to have an up-to-date guide on how to do it!! Thanks for sharing, and I’ll get to reading your other posts about travel in the DPRK! 🙂
Hi Tim, thanks – yes I was there last year and the procedure should stay the same for a while. YPT are an awesome company – great guides, a good look into this country and we had beers on the train out from North Korea back into China. Safe travels. Jonny
Thanks for your comment Sheila, yes it’s a really cool country to visit. I’d recommend heading out there. It’s so much more raw and different from South Korea which has been over commercialised whereas the north hasn’t yet! Only a single pizza shop in downtown Pyongyang is their foreign influence! Safe travels. Jonny
Hi Agness – I haven’t done Tibet or Bhutan yet – hoping to get them at some point though! This was less painful believe me and North Korea is much nicer than South Korea – less fancy stuff, less commercialism, and just kind of old school communism. They really are very anti UK and American though! I’d recommend it for you guys – thanks for sharing my post too. Safe travels, Jonny
Hi Jonny
Lon Short time fan i am.
Incase you are all wondering yes it is possible to get a DPR Korea stamp in your passport,
If you are a citizen of the EU and WANT a DPR Korea Visa Sticker in your passport you can simply tell the tour opperator that you would like to pick up your visa from the nearest DPR Korea embassy in Europe.
I know of people who got their DPR Visa in London, Vienna, Stockholm even Kuala Lumpur
Having a North Korean visa in your passport is a nice souvenir and its allot better than a boring piece of paper that get removed
Hey Martin – this is great advice cheers!! I’ve been doing all my travel and visa stuff from Asia so was unaware of the situation back in the EU/Europe as I rarely get back there (3 times in 5 years or so and all rushed trips).
I could do with the space in my passports though – seriously low on pages in both my passports so happy I handed this one back 😉 Safe travels. Jonny
Hi Jonny,
Glad you liked north korea. My impression from American and british tourists to north korea is that anti american or anti uk sentiments are primarily against those respective governments and not really against american or british people per say. I say this because the British and american tourists who I’ve heard from who’ve reported their stay in north korea said they were treated with respect and kindness. Does your experience in north korea agree with this?
Hi Brian, thanks for the comment. Yes most of that is true I’d say. Plus the locals in North Korea are clearly brainwashed by the government there about the threat from outside forces. But people are clever. No way do the locals believe that every American and British person is out to destroy North Korea. In any case, I’ve been to South Korea and North Korea and the south is more false, influenced by the horrible brand names like Starbucks, Adidas and McDonalds. A hat trick which is refreshingly and thankfully missing in the DPRK 😉 Safe travels. Jonny
Wow, I honestly had no idea it was even possible to visit there. I feel like if I was in the region it would be something to put on my resume, but not sure I would linger long but judging your other posts, especially the one about the bars, it is possible and may even be, um, fun. Thanks for shining a light!
Hi Lindsey, thanks for the comment. Yes it’s a cool spot to travel in. Contact Young Pioneer Tours if you are keen to visit and you can get 5% off if you quote my blog. Safe travels, Jonny
nice! thanks for all the info!! are you allowed to keep the tourist card when leaving the country?
Hi Sophie thanks for the comment. You’ll need to take a photocopy of the tourist card (in colour) if you want to keep it as it has to be handed in at the end of your trip. The only other option would be to pretend you’ve lost it, but I’d imagine there will be a fine and some questioning for that, maybe even a bag search. Safe travels. Jonny
Hi Jonny
What if you do not have an employer because you are retired?
Hi Lene, I am not sure how that works, you could contact the company and ask them. I assume you either have to fake an employment letter (for paperwork purposes) or submit some kind of document to prove you have enough money or are earning a pension. Safe travels. Jonny
PLS HOW ACN YOU HELP ME TO GET NK VISA TO GO THERE
Hi Julius, thanks for the comment. It is not difficult at all, just contact my friends at Young Pioneer Tours as stated in the article. Safe and happy travels! Jonny