South Africa visa requirements · checked 13 October 2026

Visa & Entry Requirements for South Africa

Q: What documents do I need to enter South Africa?

Passport validity: Home Affairs lists a passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit, with at least one unused page for entry and departure endorsements, among the documents required to apply for a visa; for entering South Africa it lists a valid passport for the intended stay with at least one blank page for endorsements. Travel insurance: No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for South Africa. Return or onward ticket: Home Affairs lists a return or onward ticket among the requirements for visitors. Proof of funds: Home Affairs says visitors must have sufficient funds to pay for their day-to-day expenses during their stay; it states no amount.

Q: How long can I stay in South Africa without a visa?

Usually 90 days (69 passports); visa-free stays range from 30 to 90 days depending on your passport.

Most travellers need a visa for South Africa: 105 of 198 passports must apply at an embassy or consulate, while 93 passports enter visa-free.

South Africa's Department of Home Affairs publishes a visa exemption list setting out, for each nationality and passport category, whether a port of entry visa is needed and for how long the exemption applies (90 days for every category of US passport, for example). It launched an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) on 12 August 2026, piloted for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico and initially available for arrivals at the OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria airports. Home Affairs requires at least one blank passport page for endorsements.

Check your passport

Your passport

Destination

Passports visa-free

105

Embassy visa required

Do I need a visa for South Africa? Quick answers

Another passport? Use the checker or find it in the table below.

Visa for South Africa — requirements summary

Visa-free: 93 (47%)
Visa required: 105 (53%)

All travellers must meet the entry rules set by South Africa, and they depend on your nationality. Find your passport below — you may be able to enter visa-free, or need an eVisa, a visa on arrival or a visa from an embassy.

Passport	Requirement	Max stay	Details
Afghanistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Albania	Visa required	—	Details →
Algeria	Visa required	—	Details →
Andorra	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Angola	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Antigua and Barbuda	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Argentina	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Armenia	Visa required	—	Details →
Australia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Austria	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Azerbaijan	Visa required	—	Details →
Bahamas	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Bahrain	Visa required	—	Details →
Bangladesh	Visa required	—	Details →
Barbados	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Belarus	Visa required	—	Details →
Belgium	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Belize	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Benin	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Bhutan	Visa required	—	Details →
Bolivia	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa required	—	Details →
Botswana	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Brazil	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Brunei	Visa required	—	Details →
Bulgaria	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Burkina Faso	Visa required	—	Details →
Burundi	Visa required	—	Details →
Cambodia	Visa required	—	Details →
Cameroon	Visa required	—	Details →
Canada	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Cape Verde	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Central African Republic	Visa required	—	Details →
Chad	Visa required	—	Details →
Chile	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
China	Visa required	—	Details →
Colombia	Visa required	—	Details →
Comoros	Visa required	—	Details →
Costa Rica	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Côte d'Ivoire	Visa required	—	Details →
Croatia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Cuba	Visa required	—	Details →
Cyprus	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Czechia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Denmark	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Djibouti	Visa required	—	Details →
Dominica	Visa required	—	Details →
Dominican Republic	Visa required	—	Details →
DR Congo	Visa required	—	Details →
Ecuador	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Egypt	Visa required	—	Details →
El Salvador	Visa required	—	Details →
Equatorial Guinea	Visa required	—	Details →
Eritrea	Visa required	—	Details →
Estonia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Eswatini	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Ethiopia	Visa required	—	Details →
Fiji	Visa required	—	Details →
Finland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
France	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Gabon	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Gambia	Visa required	—	Details →
Georgia	Visa required	—	Details →
Germany	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Ghana	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Greece	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Grenada	Visa required	—	Details →
Guatemala	Visa required	—	Details →
Guinea	Visa required	—	Details →
Guinea-Bissau	Visa required	—	Details →
Guyana	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Haiti	Visa required	—	Details →
Honduras	Visa required	—	Details →
Hong Kong	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Hungary	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Iceland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
India	Visa required	—	Details →
Indonesia	Visa required	—	Details →
Iran	Visa required	—	Details →
Iraq	Visa required	—	Details →
Ireland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Israel	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Italy	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Jamaica	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Japan	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Jordan	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Kazakhstan	Visa required	—	Details →
Kenya	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Kiribati	Visa required	—	Details →
Kosovo	Visa required	—	Details →
Kuwait	Visa required	—	Details →
Kyrgyzstan	Visa required	—	Details →
Laos	Visa required	—	Details →
Latvia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Lebanon	Visa required	—	Details →
Lesotho	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Liberia	Visa required	—	Details →
Libya	Visa required	—	Details →
Liechtenstein	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Lithuania	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Luxembourg	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Macau	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Madagascar	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Malawi	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Malaysia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Maldives	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Mali	Visa required	—	Details →
Malta	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Marshall Islands	Visa required	—	Details →
Mauritania	Visa required	—	Details →
Mauritius	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Mexico	Visa required	—	Details →
Micronesia	Visa required	—	Details →
Moldova	Visa required	—	Details →
Monaco	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Mongolia	Visa required	—	Details →
Montenegro	Visa required	—	Details →
Morocco	Visa required	—	Details →
Mozambique	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Myanmar	Visa required	—	Details →
Namibia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Nauru	Visa required	—	Details →
Nepal	Visa required	—	Details →
Netherlands	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
New Zealand	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Nicaragua	Visa required	—	Details →
Niger	Visa required	—	Details →
Nigeria	Visa required	—	Details →
North Korea	Visa required	—	Details →
North Macedonia	Visa required	—	Details →
Norway	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Oman	Visa required	—	Details →
Pakistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Palau	Visa required	—	Details →
Palestine	Visa required	—	Details →
Panama	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Papua New Guinea	Visa required	—	Details →
Paraguay	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Peru	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Philippines	Visa required	—	Details →
Poland	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Portugal	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Qatar	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	—	Details →
Romania	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Russia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Rwanda	Visa required	—	Details →
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Visa required	—	Details →
Saint Lucia	Visa required	—	Details →
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Samoa	Visa required	—	Details →
San Marino	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Sao Tome and Principe	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Saudi Arabia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Senegal	Visa required	—	Details →
Serbia	Visa required	—	Details →
Seychelles	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Sierra Leone	Visa required	—	Details →
Singapore	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Slovakia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Slovenia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Solomon Islands	Visa required	—	Details →
Somalia	Visa required	—	Details →
South Korea	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
South Sudan	Visa required	—	Details →
Spain	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Sri Lanka	Visa required	—	Details →
Sudan	Visa required	—	Details →
Suriname	Visa required	—	Details →
Sweden	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Switzerland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Syria	Visa required	—	Details →
Taiwan	Visa required	—	Details →
Tajikistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Tanzania	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Thailand	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Timor-Leste	Visa required	—	Details →
Togo	Visa required	—	Details →
Tonga	Visa required	—	Details →
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Tunisia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Türkiye	Visa-free	30 days	Details →
Turkmenistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Tuvalu	Visa required	—	Details →
Uganda	Visa required	—	Details →
Ukraine	Visa required	—	Details →
United Arab Emirates	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
United Kingdom	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
United States	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Uruguay	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Uzbekistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Vanuatu	Visa required	—	Details →
Vatican City	Visa required	—	Details →
Venezuela	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Vietnam	Visa required	—	Details →
Yemen	Visa required	—	Details →
Zambia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Zimbabwe	Visa-free	90 days	Details →

South Africa visa types, fees and processing times

Visitor's visa

Embassy

Fee: 425 ZAR
Max stay: 90 days
Extension: Possible

Home Affairs' tariff list charges R425 for a visitor's visa (Immigration Act s.11). Its visa exemption list shows, for nationalities that need a port of entry visa, whether an administrative processing fee is payable.

Official application site →

Port of entry visa (eVisa)

eVisa

Fee: 425 ZAR

Home Affairs lists the eVisa as a port of entry visa (Immigration Act s.10) with a turnaround time of 10 days. Its tariff list (updated per Government Gazette 55209, 17 August 2026) charges R425 for a port of entry visa, the same as a visitor's visa.

Official application site →

Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)

eTA

Fee: 500 ZAR
Max stay: 90 days
Extension: +90 days

Home Affairs' tariff list charges an electronic processing fee of R500 for the ETA (Immigration Act s.7(1)(i); updated per Government Gazette 55209, 17 August 2026). At the ETA launch the Minister of Home Affairs said that if the application is approved, the traveller will receive their ETA within 24 hours.

Documents (2)

Photo of your passport (if applicable)
Live picture of yourself (if applicable)

Official application site →

Entry requirements for South Africa

Passport validity

30 days

Home Affairs lists a passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit, with at least one unused page for entry and departure endorsements, among the documents required to apply for a visa; for entering South Africa it lists a valid passport for the intended stay with at least one blank page for endorsements. The UK government says British passports must have an expiry date at least 30 days after the date you leave and at least 2 blank pages.

Department of Home Affairs — Types of Visas✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Blank passport pages

1 blank page

Your passport needs at least 1 blank page.

Department of Home Affairs — Types of Visas✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Vaccinations: Yellow fever

Home Affairs lists yellow fever certificates among the requirements for entering South Africa if your journey starts in or passes through the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America.

South African Department of Home Affairs — Types of Visas (requirements for entering South Africa)✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Travel insurance

No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for South Africa.

South African Department of Home Affairs — Types of Visas (requirements for entering South Africa)✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Return or onward ticket

Home Affairs lists a return or onward ticket among the requirements for visitors.

Department of Home Affairs — Types of Visas✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Proof of funds

Home Affairs says visitors must have sufficient funds to pay for their day-to-day expenses during their stay; it states no amount.

Department of Home Affairs — Types of Visas✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Arrival cards and declarations: SARS online traveller declaration

SARS says that from 1 July 2026 travellers entering or leaving South Africa must submit their traveller declaration online before they travel, unless they qualify for one of the limited paper-based exceptions. It can be done on the SARS website, the SATMS app or the SARS MobiApp; a declaration must be submitted for each person travelling, travellers with children must complete it on their behalf, and the emailed confirmation should be printed or saved for when it is requested.

South African Revenue Service — Customs Online Traveller Declaration✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Overstay penalties

12 months

Under the Immigration Act, a foreigner who leaves South Africa after the visa has expired is dealt with under section 30(1)(h), which covers a person who has overstayed the prescribed number of times. Under the Immigration Regulations, an overstayer may be declared undesirable for 12 months if the overstay does not exceed 30 days, for two years for a second overstay within 24 months, and for five years if the overstay exceeds 30 days. The overstay is counted from the date of expiry of the last valid visa. Anyone who enters, remains in or departs from the Republic in contravention of the Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment of up to two years. The Act does not state the fine amount. A person declared undesirable under these sections must submit a written representation to the Department of Home Affairs.

Department of Home Affairs — Immigration Regulations, 2014 (updated 2018)✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

Customs allowances

SARS says excess currency is any amount above R100,000, or foreign currency convertible to more than R100,000, and that travellers must obtain written permission from the South African Reserve Bank before entering or leaving South Africa with it. It says travellers may declare the currency in their possession on a voluntary basis, on the online traveller declaration or the manual form TD-01.

South African Revenue Service — Travellers (excess currency)✓ Checked 13 Oct 2026

South Africa visa requirements statistics

198

Passports covered

105

Most common: Visa required

Least common: Visa-free

47%

Visa-free access

Visa-free stays by length

90 days · 69 passports
30 days · 24 passports

Understanding South Africa visa requirements

We track the entry rules of South Africa for 198 passports. The most common situation is visa required, which applies to 105 passports (53%). 47% of passports can enter without a visa. The least common is visa-free (93 passports).

Entry categories for South Africa

Visa-free entry: 93 passports can enter without a visa, for stays from 30 to 90 days.
Visa required: 105 passports must apply at an embassy or consulate.

What else you need to enter South Africa

Passport validity: Home Affairs lists a passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit, with at least one unused page for entry and departure endorsements, among the documents required to apply for a visa; for entering South Africa it lists a valid passport for the intended stay with at least one blank page for endorsements.
Travel insurance: No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for South Africa.
Return or onward ticket: Home Affairs lists a return or onward ticket among the requirements for visitors.
Proof of funds: Home Affairs says visitors must have sufficient funds to pay for their day-to-day expenses during their stay; it states no amount.

Open your passport in the table for the exact rules — maximum stay, fees, how to apply and the official source. Entry rules change at short notice: confirm with the embassy of South Africa or its official immigration website before you travel.

Frequently asked questions about South Africa visas

Do I need a visa for South Africa?

Most travellers need a visa for South Africa: 105 of 198 passports must apply at an embassy or consulate, while 93 passports enter visa-free. It depends on your passport — check yours.

Do US citizens need a visa for South Africa?

No. Home Affairs' visa exemption list gives 90 days for every category of US passport. Its requirements for entering South Africa include a valid passport for the intended stay with at least one blank page for endorsements, sufficient funds for day-to-day expenses and a return or onward ticket.

How many blank passport pages does South Africa require?

At least one blank page for entry and departure endorsements, according to the Department of Home Affairs; UK travel advice says two.

What documents do children need to enter South Africa?

Home Affairs says that visa applicants with children travelling with them or joining them must provide unabridged birth certificates, proof of guardianship or custody, or the guardian's consent for an unaccompanied minor. The UK FCDO says there are special requirements for travelling to South Africa with children aged 17 and under and for unaccompanied children, and Canada says unaccompanied minors under 18 are subject to additional requirements.

Do Chinese and Indian citizens need a visa for South Africa?

No official source we could read states it in page text we hold: Home Affairs' exemption table loses its column layout in the text we have. Home Affairs piloted the Electronic Travel Authorisation during South Africa's G20 Presidency for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico and launched it on 12 August 2026; it says approved travellers receive their ETA within 24 hours, that it is initially available for arrivals at the OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria airports, and that it will progressively become compulsory for short stay visits from countries that require port-of-entry visas.

Is South Africa safe for tourists?

The UK FCDO says there is a high crime rate in South Africa, and reports violent attacks and muggings against hikers in Table Mountain National Park, widespread card skimming, and armed violence linked to tensions between e-hailing app and metered taxi drivers. The Government of Canada says travel on foot is inadvisable in most areas and advises avoiding all unnecessary travel after dark.

Do UK citizens need a visa for South Africa?

UK citizens can visit South Africa visa-free for 90 days. Full rules for United Kingdom passport holders.

Do German citizens need a visa for South Africa?

German citizens can visit South Africa visa-free for 90 days. Full rules for Germany passport holders.

What documents do I need to enter South Africa?

Passport validity: Home Affairs lists a passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit, with at least one unused page for entry and departure endorsements, among the documents required to apply for a visa; for entering South Africa it lists a valid passport for the intended stay with at least one blank page for endorsements. Travel insurance: No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for South Africa. Return or onward ticket: Home Affairs lists a return or onward ticket among the requirements for visitors. Proof of funds: Home Affairs says visitors must have sufficient funds to pay for their day-to-day expenses during their stay; it states no amount.

How long can I stay in South Africa without a visa?

Usually 90 days (69 passports); visa-free stays range from 30 to 90 days depending on your passport.

How many countries can visit South Africa without a visa?

93 of 198 passports can enter South Africa visa-free (47%). and 105 need a visa from an embassy.

Data: TravelRequirements.info — Entry Requirements Dataset, AXG Sp. z o.o. (CC BY 4.0) — official sources are linked on each passport page. Gaps filled from the Passport Index dataset (MIT).

Check other requirements

Travelling from South Africa?

Where can South Africa citizens travel visa-free?

South Africa passport holders can visit 61 countries without a visa. Open a country for the exact rules.

Map and full list →