Every visitor to South Africa must have a valid passport.

• Passengers travelling to South Africa must be in possession of a passport with two unused pages required for endorsements.
• Two unused pages when presented for purposes of endorsing a port of entry visa, visa, permanent residence permit, or entry of departure stamp.
• The passport must be machine readable however, the foreigner may be admitted into or depart from South Africa with a non-machine-readable passport provided that:
  • He or she is from a foreign country that is issuing machine readable passports and has not completely phased out the non-machine-readable passports; and
  • Passports must be valid for at least 6 months after your intended date of departure.

Passport holders from more than 80 countries, including USA, Canada, UK, Japan, and the EU can visit South Africa without a visa. A list of countries that currently do not require a visa can be found at the South African Government website.

Information regarding visas can be obtained from your travel agent or the South African diplomatic or consular representative in your area. Delegates requiring visas, and who intend taking tours to neighbouring Southern African countries, are advised to secure a multiple entry visa. Tourists must satisfy immigration officers that they have the means of support for the duration of their stay in the country and return /onward tickets.

• Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Kenya, Angola, Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mozambique.
• Asia: Thailand (30 days), Singapore (30 days), Indonesia (30 days), Qatar, South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong.
• Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana
• Europe: Georgia, Kosovo, Russian Federation.
• Middle East: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan

Visas cannot be obtained on arrival.

Click here to view the visa requirements to enter South Africa.

On entry to South Africa, a visa is considered to be a visitor’s permit. The permit’s period of validity is calculated from the date of entry into the country and will be set out under the heading “conditions” on the visa label.

Please ensure that you apply for the correct visa/permit. Entry into the country may be refused if the purpose of the visit was not correctly stated. Requirements for visitor visas differ from country to country (click here to see which countries are currently exempt), and the requirements are subject to change.

Please ensure that you apply for the correct visa/permit. Entry into the country may be refused if the purpose of the visit was not correctly stated. Requirements for visitor visas differ from country to country (click here to see which countries are currently exempt), and the requirements are subject to change. Each application is treated individually. You should make an appointment with your nearest South African consulate. There is a fee charged for processing a visa, so you should check beforehand what this will be (it differs from country to country.) The fee is payable in different currencies in different countries.

Foreigners with work permits or permit residence) in neighbouring countries who transit through South Africa to their places of employment or residence are not subject to the transit visa, provided they are in possession of proof of their status.