South Africa entry requirements, by passport
South Africa visa requirements at a glance: 93 of the 198 passports VisaRadar tracks can enter South Africa without arranging a visa beforehand: visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorisation. The other 105 must obtain a visa before they travel.
Which passport do you hold?
We'll take you straight to the entry requirements for South Africa for your nationality.
What we've verified for South Africa
Beyond the yes/no matrix, we've checked these against an official primary source (last checked 18 August 2026). The specifics depend on your nationality: open your passport's row in the table for the detail that applies to you.
- Typical processing time
- Required documents (2)
- Required vaccinations
- Health-insurance rules
- Customs limits (cash, alcohol, tobacco)
- Overstay penalties
- Stay and transit rules
Sources: dha.gov.za and eta.dha.gov.za (Department of Home Affairs: ETA phased rollout, eligible countries, airports, ZAR 500 fee effective 17/08/2026 per the Government Gazette); sars.gov.za, "SC-PA-01-03 Duty Free Allowances for Travellers" document with an effective date of 01/07/2026 (South African Revenue Service: alcohol/tobacco allowances, ZAR 100,000 cash declaration, mandatory online traveller declaration) (checked 18/08/2026).
South Africa sets its entry regime by nationality: most passports from the Americas and Western Europe enter visa-free for tourism, while other nationalities need a prior consular visa. Since October 2025, South Africa has rolled out a new Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system to simplify entry control, still being phased in by nationality.
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 2 November 2026. Published: 20 August 2026.
| Passport | Requirement | Max. stay |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free | ||
| Andorra | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Angola | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Argentina | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Australia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Austria | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bahamas | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Barbados | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Belgium | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Belize | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Benin | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Bolivia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Botswana | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Brazil | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bulgaria | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Canada | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Cape Verde | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Chile | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Costa Rica | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Croatia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Cyprus | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Czech Republic | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Denmark | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ecuador | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Estonia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Eswatini | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Finland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| France | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Gabon | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Germany | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ghana | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Greece | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Guyana | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Hong Kong | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Hungary | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Iceland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ireland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Israel | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Italy | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Jamaica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Japan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Jordan | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Kenya | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Latvia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Lesotho | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Liechtenstein | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Lithuania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Luxembourg | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Macao | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Madagascar | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malawi | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Malaysia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Maldives | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Malta | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mauritius | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Monaco | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mozambique | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Namibia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Netherlands | Visa-free | 90 days |
| New Zealand | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Norway | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Panama | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Paraguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Peru | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Poland | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Portugal | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Qatar | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Romania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Russia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Visa-free | 90 days |
| San Marino | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saudi Arabia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Seychelles | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Singapore | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Slovakia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Slovenia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| South Korea | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Spain | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Sweden | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Switzerland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Tanzania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Thailand | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Tunisia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Turkey | Visa-free | 30 days |
| United Arab Emirates | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United States | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uruguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Venezuela | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Zambia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Zimbabwe | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Visa required | ||
| Afghanistan | Visa required | — |
| Albania | e-Visa | — |
| Algeria | e-Visa | — |
| Armenia | Visa required | — |
| Azerbaijan | Visa required | — |
| Bahrain | Visa required | — |
| Bangladesh | Visa required | — |
| Belarus | e-Visa | — |
| Bhutan | Visa required | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Visa required | — |
| Brunei | Visa required | — |
| Burkina Faso | Visa required | — |
| Burundi | Visa required | — |
| Cambodia | Visa required | — |
| Cameroon | e-Visa | — |
| Central African Republic | Visa required | — |
| Chad | Visa required | — |
| China | e-Visa | — |
| Colombia | Visa required | — |
| Comoros | e-Visa | — |
| Cuba | e-Visa | — |
| Djibouti | Visa required | — |
| Dominica | Visa required | — |
| Dominican Republic | Visa required | — |
| DR Congo | e-Visa | — |
| Egypt | e-Visa | — |
| El Salvador | Visa required | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | Visa required | — |
| Eritrea | Visa required | — |
| Ethiopia | e-Visa | — |
| Fiji | Visa required | — |
| Gambia | Visa required | — |
| Georgia | Visa required | — |
| Grenada | Visa required | — |
| Guatemala | Visa required | — |
| Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | Visa required | — |
| Haiti | Visa required | — |
| Honduras | Visa required | — |
| India | e-Visa | — |
| Indonesia | e-Visa | — |
| Iran | e-Visa | — |
| Iraq | Visa required | — |
| Ivory Coast | e-Visa | — |
| Kazakhstan | Visa required | — |
| Kiribati | Visa required | — |
| Kosovo | Visa required | — |
| Kuwait | Visa required | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Visa required | — |
| Laos | Visa required | — |
| Lebanon | Visa required | — |
| Liberia | e-Visa | — |
| Libya | Visa required | — |
| Mali | e-Visa | — |
| Marshall Islands | Visa required | — |
| Mauritania | Visa required | — |
| Mexico | e-Visa | — |
| Micronesia | Visa required | — |
| Moldova | Visa required | — |
| Mongolia | Visa required | — |
| Montenegro | Visa required | — |
| Morocco | e-Visa | — |
| Myanmar | Visa required | — |
| Nauru | Visa required | — |
| Nepal | Visa required | — |
| Nicaragua | Visa required | — |
| Niger | e-Visa | — |
| Nigeria | e-Visa | — |
| North Korea | Visa required | — |
| North Macedonia | Visa required | — |
| Oman | e-Visa | — |
| Pakistan | e-Visa | — |
| Palau | Visa required | — |
| Palestine | Visa required | — |
| Papua New Guinea | Visa required | — |
| Philippines | e-Visa | — |
| Republic of the Congo | e-Visa | — |
| Rwanda | Visa required | — |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Visa required | — |
| Saint Lucia | Visa required | — |
| Samoa | Visa required | — |
| Senegal | e-Visa | — |
| Serbia | Visa required | — |
| Sierra Leone | Visa required | — |
| Solomon Islands | Visa required | — |
| Somalia | Visa required | — |
| South Sudan | Visa required | — |
| Sri Lanka | Visa required | — |
| Sudan | Visa required | — |
| Suriname | Visa required | — |
| Syria | Visa required | — |
| Taiwan | Visa required | — |
| Tajikistan | Visa required | — |
| Timor-Leste | Visa required | — |
| Togo | Visa required | — |
| Tonga | Visa required | — |
| Turkmenistan | Visa required | — |
| Tuvalu | Visa required | — |
| Uganda | e-Visa | — |
| Ukraine | Visa required | — |
| Uzbekistan | Visa required | — |
| Vanuatu | Visa required | — |
| Vatican | Visa required | — |
| Vietnam | Visa required | — |
| Yemen | Visa required | — |
South Africa rules for every passport
Vaccinations, customs limits and penalties are the same for every traveller.
Vaccinations
- No mandatory vaccines for general entry. A yellow fever certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from a country with risk of transmission (expressly including Eritrea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, Tanzania and Zambia) or who have transited more than 12 hours through the airport of one of those countries.
Customs limits
- Cash
- Up to ZAR 100,000 in local or foreign currency (or bearer negotiable instruments) can be carried without prior approval; above that it must be declared. Since 01/07/2026 the traveller declaration is mandatory and online (SARS Traveller Management System) for most travellers.
- Alcohol
- 2 litres of wine + 1 litre of spirits or other alcoholic beverages, duty-free, per person aged 18 or over.
- Tobacco
- 200 cigarettes, 20 cigars, and 250 grams of tobacco, duty-free, per person aged 18 or over.
Overstay penalties
South Africa does not charge a daily fine: it declares you an undesirable person, which bars entry for a fixed period. Where the overstay is no more than 30 days, the declaration runs for 12 months. Beyond 30 days, it is five years. There is an appeal procedure before the Department of Home Affairs to have the declaration lifted.
Grounds for refusal
- Needing the ETA and arriving without it: while the phased rollout continues, it can't be obtained on arrival.
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.
See IATI's international site →IATI sells its policies according to the country you live in. Where do you live?
If your country isn't listed, try IATI's international site.
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Do you need a different visa for Cape Town, Johannesburg, or Durban?
No. South Africa sets the requirements, so entering through Cape Town asks for the same as entering through Johannesburg or Durban. 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 South Africa
South Africa combines safari, city and coast in a single trip. Cape Town, between Table Mountain and two oceans, is the base for the south-west: the Cape of Good Hope, the Boulders penguin colony, the Stellenbosch vineyards and Robben Island, Mandela's prison and a World Heritage site. To the east begins the Garden Route, of forest and cliffs. The north-east has Kruger National Park, one of the great African parks for the "big five". And the Drakensberg range and the Sterkfontein cradle of humankind round out the World Heritage list. South Africa has 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Two weeks cover Cape Town, the Garden Route and a few days on safari. Being in the southern hemisphere, the austral winter (May-September) is the best time for safari; check safety by area and avoid walking at night in the cities.
Sources for this section: southafrica.net (South African Tourism); UNESCO World Heritage List (whc.unesco.org, 12 sites in South Africa); UK FCDO travel advice for South Africa. Accessed 31 August 2026.
Things to see and do in South Africa
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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Where can South Africa passport holders travel visa-free? →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.