Lesotho entry requirements, by passport
Lesotho visa requirements at a glance: 81 of the 198 passports VisaRadar tracks can enter Lesotho without arranging a visa beforehand: visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorisation. The other 117 must obtain a visa before they travel.
Which passport do you hold?
We'll take you straight to the entry requirements for Lesotho for your nationality.
What we've verified for Lesotho
Beyond the yes/no matrix, we've checked these against an official primary source (last checked 3 October 2026). The specifics depend on your nationality: open your passport's row in the table for the detail that applies to you.
- Required documents (3)
- Required vaccinations
- Customs limits (cash, alcohol, tobacco)
- Overstay penalties
- Stay and transit rules
Sources: exteriores.gob.es (travel advice of Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Lesotho, updated 18 May 2026: 14 days visa-free, passport validity, blank pages, yellow fever, currency, driving, drugs, security); gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/lesotho (UK Government: four pages, extension in Maseru, overstay fines, cash declaration); homeaffairs.gov.ls (Lesotho Ministry of Home Affairs: eVisa suspended and application email); data.unesco.org (World Heritage List). All checked on 3 October 2026.
This table summarises the exact entry mechanism for every passport we track. The difference between entering visa-free, with an electronic authorisation, with an e-Visa, or with a traditional visa is explained in visa, e-Visa, and electronic authorisation: what's the difference. How we verify every row before publishing it is on methodology.
Base entry rules refreshed 12 October 2026. Published: 3 October 2026.
| Passport | Requirement | Max. stay |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free | ||
| Antigua and Barbuda | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Australia | Visa-free | — |
| Austria | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Bahamas | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Barbados | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Belgium | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Belize | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Botswana | Visa-free | — |
| Brunei | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bulgaria | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Canada | Visa-free | — |
| Croatia | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Cyprus | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Czech Republic | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Denmark | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Dominica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Estonia | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Eswatini | Visa-free | — |
| Finland | Visa-free | 14 days |
| France | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Gambia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Germany | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Greece | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Grenada | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Guyana | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Hong Kong | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Hungary | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Iceland | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Ireland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Israel | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Italy | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Jamaica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Japan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kenya | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kiribati | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Latvia | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Lithuania | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Luxembourg | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Madagascar | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malawi | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malaysia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Maldives | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malta | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Mauritius | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mozambique | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Namibia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Nauru | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Netherlands | Visa-free | 14 days |
| New Zealand | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Norway | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Papua New Guinea | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Poland | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Portugal | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Romania | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saint Lucia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Samoa | Visa-free | 90 days |
| San Marino | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Seychelles | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Sierra Leone | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Singapore | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Slovakia | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Slovenia | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Solomon Islands | Visa-free | 90 days |
| South Africa | Visa-free | — |
| South Korea | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Spain | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Sri Lanka | Visa-free | — |
| Sweden | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Switzerland | Visa-free | 14 days |
| Tanzania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Tonga | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Tuvalu | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uganda | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | — |
| United States | Visa-free | — |
| Vanuatu | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Zambia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Zimbabwe | Visa-free | — |
| Visa required | ||
| Afghanistan | Visa required | — |
| Albania | Visa required | — |
| Algeria | Visa required | — |
| Andorra | Visa required | — |
| Angola | Visa required | — |
| Argentina | Visa required | — |
| Armenia | Visa required | — |
| Azerbaijan | Visa required | — |
| Bahrain | Visa required | — |
| Bangladesh | Visa required | — |
| Belarus | Visa required | — |
| Benin | Visa required | — |
| Bhutan | Visa required | — |
| Bolivia | Visa required | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Visa required | — |
| Brazil | Visa required | — |
| Burkina Faso | Visa required | — |
| Burundi | Visa required | — |
| Cambodia | Visa required | — |
| Cameroon | Visa required | — |
| Cape Verde | Visa required | — |
| Central African Republic | Visa required | — |
| Chad | Visa required | — |
| Chile | Visa required | — |
| China | Visa required | — |
| Colombia | Visa required | — |
| Comoros | Visa required | — |
| Costa Rica | Visa required | — |
| Cuba | Visa required | — |
| Djibouti | Visa required | — |
| Dominican Republic | Visa required | — |
| DR Congo | Visa required | — |
| Ecuador | Visa required | — |
| Egypt | Visa required | — |
| El Salvador | Visa required | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | Visa required | — |
| Eritrea | Visa required | — |
| Ethiopia | Visa required | — |
| Fiji | Visa required | — |
| Gabon | Visa required | — |
| Georgia | Visa required | — |
| Ghana | Visa required | — |
| Guatemala | Visa required | — |
| Guinea | Visa required | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | Visa required | — |
| Haiti | Visa required | — |
| Honduras | Visa required | — |
| India | Visa required | — |
| Indonesia | Visa required | — |
| Iran | Visa required | — |
| Iraq | Visa required | — |
| Ivory Coast | Visa required | — |
| Jordan | Visa required | — |
| Kazakhstan | Visa required | — |
| Kosovo | Visa required | — |
| Kuwait | Visa required | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Visa required | — |
| Laos | Visa required | — |
| Lebanon | Visa required | — |
| Liberia | Visa required | — |
| Libya | Visa required | — |
| Liechtenstein | Visa required | — |
| Macao | Visa required | — |
| Mali | Visa required | — |
| Marshall Islands | Visa required | — |
| Mauritania | Visa required | — |
| Mexico | Visa required | — |
| Micronesia | Visa required | — |
| Moldova | Visa required | — |
| Monaco | Visa required | — |
| Mongolia | Visa required | — |
| Montenegro | Visa required | — |
| Morocco | Visa required | — |
| Myanmar | Visa required | — |
| Nepal | Visa required | — |
| Nicaragua | Visa required | — |
| Niger | Visa required | — |
| Nigeria | Visa required | — |
| North Korea | Visa required | — |
| North Macedonia | Visa required | — |
| Oman | Visa required | — |
| Pakistan | Visa required | — |
| Palau | Visa required | — |
| Palestine | Visa required | — |
| Panama | Visa required | — |
| Paraguay | Visa required | — |
| Peru | Visa required | — |
| Philippines | Visa required | — |
| Qatar | Visa required | — |
| Republic of the Congo | Visa required | — |
| Russia | Visa required | — |
| Rwanda | Visa required | — |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Visa required | — |
| Saudi Arabia | Visa required | — |
| Senegal | Visa required | — |
| Serbia | Visa required | — |
| Somalia | Visa required | — |
| South Sudan | Visa required | — |
| Sudan | Visa required | — |
| Suriname | Visa required | — |
| Syria | Visa required | — |
| Taiwan | Visa required | — |
| Tajikistan | Visa required | — |
| Thailand | Visa required | — |
| Timor-Leste | Visa required | — |
| Togo | Visa required | — |
| Tunisia | Visa required | — |
| Turkey | Visa required | — |
| Turkmenistan | Visa required | — |
| Ukraine | Visa required | — |
| United Arab Emirates | Visa required | — |
| Uruguay | Visa required | — |
| Uzbekistan | Visa required | — |
| Vatican | Visa required | — |
| Venezuela | Visa required | — |
| Vietnam | Visa required | — |
| Yemen | Visa required | — |
Lesotho rules for every passport
Vaccinations, customs limits and penalties are the same for every traveller.
Vaccinations
- Yellow fever: only required for travellers arriving from endemic areas.
Customs limits
- Cash
- The UK Government says cash must be declared from 25,000 maloti, and that undeclared money can be seized on departure and fined. Spain's Foreign Ministry, by contrast, says there are no currency restrictions and no declaration. The loti is pegged one to one to the South African rand, which is also accepted in Lesotho, but maloti are not accepted in South Africa.
Overstay penalties
According to the UK Government, anyone who overstays without permission may be detained and charged weekly fines. A stay can be extended with the temporary permit extension form at the Visa Application Centre in the Manthabiseng Convention Centre, Maseru.
Grounds for refusal
- A passport expiring less than 30 days after departure.
- Running out of blank pages for the Lesotho and South Africa stamps.
- Arriving without a visa while the eVisa system is suspended.
Travel insurance
Each destination decides whether to require insurance, and some check it at the border. If yours does, make sure the policy covers the whole trip.
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Do you need a different visa for Maseru, Teyateyaneng, or Mafeteng?
No. Lesotho sets the requirements, so entering through Maseru asks for the same as entering through Teyateyaneng or Mafeteng. If you're arriving overland or through a small border post, check that separately: some countries apply their own rules to specific crossings.
What does change is where you file the application when a visa is needed, and that depends on the country you live in rather than the city you're travelling to.
What draws travellers to Lesotho
Lesotho shares the Maloti-Drakensberg Park with South Africa, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. The Lesotho side is Sehlabathebe National Park, with basalt buttresses, arches and rock pools, a fish found nowhere else (the Maloti minnow) and rock shelters with San paintings, the densest group in Africa south of the Sahara. Spain's Foreign Ministry asks for extra caution because of crime: foreigners have been robbed in Maseru and Leribe, and it advises against walking around the capital early in the morning and at night. Winter temperatures drop to -7 degrees.
Sources for this section: data.unesco.org (World Heritage List: Maloti-Drakensberg Park, 2000, shared with South Africa); Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advice for Lesotho. Accessed 3 October 2026.
Things to see and do in Lesotho
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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Where can Lesotho passport holders travel visa-free? →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.