Moscow Urges Tourists to Observe Migration Laws After 16 Russians Denied Entry to S. Korea

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2019) The Consular Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry has called on Russian tourists to check foreign laws before taking a trip after the South Korean authorities denied entry to 16 Russian nationals.

Earlier in the day, the Russian embassy in Seoul said that 26 Russian nationals, who had arrived in South Korea early Sunday, had been denied entry to the country due to their failure to prove to border control officers that their visit was for tourism purposes. All of them have already left the country. The entry was denied in accordance with the Article 8 of the Russian-Korean agreement regarding mutual cancellation of visa demands.

"Once again, we urge citizens who plan to visit South Korea to study the provisions of the migration legislation of the state and the bilateral agreement!" the Consular Department said on Facebook.

Dmitry Gorin, the adviser to the head of the Federal Agency for Tourism, told Sputnik that the reason behind the deportation was the failure to provide necessary documents, such as hotel confirmation vouchers, return tickets and others. He added that both sides are forced to resort to such measures in order to prevent the flow of illegal migrants into their countries and reminded that recently there had been a spike in cases of the Korean authorities denying entrance to Russian citizens who tried to pass on as tourists.

The 2013 visa-free agreement between Russia and South Korea stipulates that Russian citizens can visit South Korea on a visa-free basis for up to 60 days. The agreement aimed to boost bilateral ties in areas such as tourism and business. The agreement, however, does not cover areas like studying and working.�