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Visas

What papers are needed to come to South Africa?

Visas

Not every foreigner needs to get a visa (visitor's permit) to travel to South Africa. As this information is constantly changing, contact a nearby South African Consulate, Embassy or Mission to find out if you will need one.

The following categories of people don’t require a visa to travel to South Africa for tourist, business or transit purposes:

  • Holders of South African passports or official travel documents issued in place of a passport (i.e. UN laissez-passers).
  • Holders of passports from the following countries can visit South Africa for a holiday or business trip (or for transits) of up to 30 days without a visa: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Gabon, Guyana, Hong Kong (only holders of Hong Kong British National Overseas passports or Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports), Hungary, Jordan, Lesotho, Macau (only holders of Macau Special Administrative Region passports), Malaysia, Malawi, the Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Peru, Poland, the Seychelles, the Slovak Republic, South Korea, Swaziland, Thailand, Tunisia, (only diplomatic and official passport holders for holiday visits), Turkey and Zambia.
  • Holders of passports from the following countries can visit South Africa for a holiday or business trip (or for transits) of up to 90 days without a visa: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, St Vincent & the Grenadines, St Helena, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania (only 90 days per year), the United Kingdom, the British Islands (Bailiwick, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man and Virgin Islands), British Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island, Gough Island and Tristan da Cuna), Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos Island), Uruguay, the US, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
  • Holders of diplomatic and official passports from the following countries can visit South Africa for a holiday or business trip (or for transits) of up to 90 days without a visa: Angola, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Comoros, Croatia, Guinea, Mexico, Mozambique, Poland, Romania, Slovak, Thailand, Tunisia and Vietnam.
  • Holders of diplomatic and official passports from the following countries can visit South Africa for a holiday or business trip (or for transits) of up to 30 days without a visa: Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco and Rwanda.
  • Holders of diplomatic and official passports from the following countries can visit South Africa for a holiday or business trip (or for transits) of up to 120 days without a visa: Albania, Hungary, Paraguay and Slovenia.

Who needs a visa

You require a visa if any of the following applies:

  • You are not a national of one of the above-mentioned countries;
  • You intend to stay in South Africa longer than the permitted exemption period;
  • You intend to work or study in South Africa;
  • You intend to take part in a sports event;
  • Your visit is related to the pursuit of your career;
  • You intend to take up permanent residence in South Africa.

The possession of a visa does not guarantee your entry into South Africa. It entitles you only to proceed to a South African port of entry, where an immigration officer will check that you satisfy the basic requirements for entry into the country.

Whether or not you need a visa, you require the following in order to be granted entry into South Africa:

  • A passport (or travel document) valid long enough to cover the intended period of stay, with at least two blank pages.
  • Enough money to support yourself during your stay.
  • An onward or return ticket.

If you come from, journeyed through or disembarked at a country in the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America, you must also have proof of inoculation against the disease. The inoculation only becomes valid ten days after the inoculation, and remains valid for ten years.

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