In this guide7 sections
An Indian passport needs a Korean C-3 visa for any trip that touches the mainland, and the government sets that fee in a fixed rupee amount — not the roughly ₹690 that shows up when the same search accidentally surfaces K-ETA instead. K-ETA is a separate, far cheaper pre-travel screening built only for nationalities Korea already admits visa-free, and India isn't one of them; the eligibility case in full is on K-ETA for Indians. This page is the fee structure alone — what the Korean government charges, what VFS Global layers on top as its own service charge, and where the three India-facing fee pages actually disagree with each other right now, checked directly against each one on 27 August 2026. The document checklist, processing times and full application walkthrough live on South Korea visa from India, which this page doesn't repeat.
The government visa fee, by jurisdiction#
Three separate Korean missions issue visas to Indian applicants, and each publishes its own rupee fee. As of 27 August 2026:
Visa category | Chennai / Bengaluru | Mumbai (revised, from 3 Aug 2026) | Delhi / Kolkata (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|
Short-term single entry (≤90 days) | ₹3,600 | ₹3,600 | ₹3,400 |
Long-term single entry (>90 days) | ₹5,400 | ₹5,400 | ₹5,100 |
Multiple entry (all categories) | ₹8,100 | ₹8,100 | ₹7,650 |
Double entry (30-day stay, valid 6 months) | Not listed as a separate line | ₹6,300 | Not listed in the main fee table |
Sources: visaforkorea-ce.com's own visa-type page (Chennai/Bengaluru); visaforkorea-id.com's own visa-type page (Delhi/Kolkata); the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Mumbai's own dated fee notice on overseas.mofa.go.kr — all checked 27 August 2026. The New Delhi embassy's own published jurisdiction map (overseas.mofa.go.kr) confirms Mumbai as a third, separate visa-issuing consulate covering Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, alongside the Chennai and Delhi/Kolkata centres this site's South Korea visa from India guide already documents in more depth — that same government page also lists Kerala under the Chennai mission, a state VFS Global's own Chennai microsite doesn't name in its own jurisdiction line. If your home state isn't obviously covered by one of the three, confirm directly with the relevant mission before filing.
A fee revision that landed unevenly — confirmed directly#
The Mumbai consulate's own notice, posted as an image on its official site, states plainly: "Due to exchange rate fluctuations, visa fees will be increased effective August 3, 2026" — and gives the exact revised figures shown in the table above, alongside the pre-revision numbers it replaces (₹3,400 / ₹5,100 / ₹7,650, the same figures still live on Delhi/Kolkata's own fee page today). Chennai/Bengaluru's VFS microsite already shows the revised schedule. Delhi/Kolkata's does not, more than three weeks after the government's own stated effective date. That gap is worth budgeting for directly: an applicant filing through Delhi or Kolkata today may be quoted the lower, unrevised fee at the counter, or may find it has changed by the time they apply — the only way to know is to check the live page or ask VFS on the day.
Express processing: what it costs on top#
Express is a separate paid add-on, not a different visa. Eligibility requires meeting at least one condition — a previously issued Visa Issuance Number, a previous multiple-entry visa, or two or more visits to Korea in the last two years — and none of the three missions allows converting a normal application to Express after submission.
Visa category | Chennai / Bengaluru Express | Delhi / Kolkata Express | Mumbai Express (revised) |
|---|---|---|---|
Short-term single entry | ₹6,300 | ₹5,600 (= ₹3,200 fee + ₹2,400 surcharge) | ₹6,300 |
Long-term single entry | ₹8,100 | ₹7,200 (= ₹4,800 fee + ₹2,400 surcharge) | ₹8,100 |
Double entry | Not listed | ₹8,800 (= ₹5,600 fee + ₹3,200 surcharge) | ₹9,900 |
Multiple entry | ₹11,700 | ₹10,400 (= ₹7,200 fee + ₹3,200 surcharge) | ₹11,700 |
One inconsistency worth flagging exactly as found: Delhi/Kolkata's own Express table breaks the short-term Express fee down as a ₹3,200 base "normal visa fee" plus a ₹2,400 surcharge — yet the same page's main fee table, a few sections up, lists the regular (non-Express) short-term fee as ₹3,400. Both figures are live on the identical page, checked the same day; this page states both rather than silently picking one, and it's a second, independent reason to confirm the exact fee with VFS directly before paying rather than trust either number blind.
VFS Global's own service charge — not the same in every city#
The visa fee above goes to the Korean government. VFS Global, the contractor running all three application centres, charges its own service fee on top, and that charge is not uniform across India: ₹1,380 per applicant in Chennai/Bengaluru, and ₹1,600 per applicant in Delhi/Kolkata, both inclusive of GST (SGST 9% + CGST 9%) and both confirmed on each centre's own live fee page on 27 August 2026. Optional courier for the passport adds ₹550 in Chennai/Bengaluru and Delhi, or ₹750 (two-way) in Kolkata specifically; Delhi/Kolkata also lists an optional ₹130 form-filling charge, ₹2-per-copy photocopying, and a ₹150 photo-booth charge for six copies, none of which Chennai's page mentions.
Refunds: what's stated, and what silently isn't#
Chennai's own fee page is explicit on one point only: Express is non-refundable. Its exact wording — the mission does "not return any express fees in case of visa rejection or visas not processed within the time due to request for additional documents" — applies to the Express surcharge specifically. Neither Chennai's nor Delhi/Kolkata's fee page states a refund policy for the base government visa fee itself if an application is refused. That's a real gap in what's published, not an oversight of this page's own reading — treat the base fee as non-refundable in practice unless the mission tells you otherwise in writing, but don't take this page's silence as confirmation either way.
Why the government's own "basic rate" page shows a different number#
Search long enough and you'll find a Korean government page quoting visa fees in US dollars, not rupees — Chennai's own official site (overseas.mofa.go.kr) publishes a generic global fee schedule: single entry (≤90 days) US$40, single entry (>90 days) US$60, multiple entry US$90, double entry US$70. That page states its own limits directly: "Visa fees below are basic rates... Different fees are applicable to certain countries." At the ECB reference rate of ₹95.42 per US dollar (frankfurter.app, checked 27 August 2026, rate dated 26 August 2026), those generic figures convert to roughly ₹3,817 / ₹5,725 / ₹8,588 / ₹6,679 — close to, but not identical to, the India-specific INR figures Indian applicants are actually charged through VFS Global and the Mumbai consulate. The generic USD schedule is a global default, not the number to budget by; the tables above, published specifically for India, are.
What this means for your total cost#
Add the government fee to VFS Global's service charge for the realistic floor: roughly ₹4,980–₹5,730 through Chennai/Bengaluru or Mumbai for a short-term single-entry visa (₹3,600 + ₹1,380, or + service charge as applicable), or ₹5,000 through Delhi/Kolkata at today's unrevised ₹3,400 + ₹1,600. Add Express only if you actually qualify and need the faster turnaround, and add courier only if you want the passport mailed back rather than collected in person. What this fee does not include, and should never be confused with, is K-ETA's ~₹690 charge — a different product, for a different set of nationalities, that an Indian passport cannot use in place of a visa for mainland travel.
VisaGyan is not affiliated with VFS Global, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, or any Korean embassy or consulate; we book nothing and arrange nothing. Every fee on this page traces to the mission or contractor source named above, checked 27 August 2026. South Korea's visa fees change without notice, and this page has already documented one revision that reached three India-facing pages on three different dates — verify the live figure on visaforkorea-ce.com, visaforkorea-id.com, or directly with the relevant Korean mission before you pay.
Sources cited only — expert review pending. For individualized advice, consult a licensed professional.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does the South Korea C-3 visa actually cost for an Indian applicant?
- It depends on which of three Indian jurisdictions processes the file. As of 27 August 2026, the Chennai/Bengaluru centre (visaforkorea-ce.com) and the Consulate General in Mumbai (per its own dated fee notice) both charge Rs 3,600 for a short-term single-entry visa (up to 90 days); the Delhi/Kolkata centre (visaforkorea-id.com) still shows the pre-revision Rs 3,400 on its live page. All three add a separate VFS Global service charge on top -- Rs 1,380 per applicant in Chennai/Bengaluru, Rs 1,600 in Delhi/Kolkata, both confirmed the same day.
- Is the South Korea visa fee the same as the K-ETA fee?
- No, and confusing the two is the single most common mistake in this search. K-ETA costs 10,000 KRW, about Rs 690 at the 26 August 2026 ECB reference rate -- but K-ETA is a pre-travel screening only for nationalities Korea already admits visa-free, and India is not on that list. An Indian passport holder cannot substitute the cheap K-ETA fee for the visa fee; the full eligibility case is on K-ETA for Indians (/k-eta-for-indians).
- Why do Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi/Kolkata charge different fees for the same visa?
- A fee revision took effect in early August 2026 but has not landed on every mission's own page at the same time. The Consulate General in Mumbai's own notice states the increase was "effective August 3, 2026" and gives Rs 3,600/5,400/8,100 as the revised short/long/multiple-entry figures; Chennai's VFS microsite already shows the identical revised numbers. Delhi/Kolkata's VFS microsite, checked the same day, still lists the older Rs 3,400/5,100/7,650 schedule -- not a permanent jurisdictional difference, just an unsynced update.
- Is the Express visa fee refundable if the application is refused?
- No. Chennai's own fee page states it in as many words: the mission "do[es] not return any express fees in case of visa rejection or visas not processed within the time due to request for additional documents." Neither Chennai nor Delhi/Kolkata publishes a refund policy for the base government visa fee itself on their fee pages -- that silence is worth noting rather than assuming either way.