Visa requirements for citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe

Citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe need a Schengen visa, which covers all member states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Of the 198 countries whose entry rules are known in both directions, São Tomé and Príncipe and 7 of them let each other’s citizens in without a visa obtained in advance (visa-free, on arrival or with an ETA; an e-visa counts as a visa).

51 countries ask holders of the passport of São Tomé and Príncipe for a visa beforehand, although their own citizens enter São Tomé and Príncipe without one: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria and 46 others.

The reverse holds for 52 countries: holders of the passport of São Tomé and Príncipe get in without a visa obtained in advance, but their citizens need one for São Tomé and Príncipe (Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Burundi and 47 others).

94 countries ask holders of the passport of São Tomé and Príncipe for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 7 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in São Tomé and Príncipe.

87 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in São Tomé and Príncipe, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country. Counting the post an official diplomatic list names for São Tomé and Príncipe, or else the nearest one within 2,000 km, those posts are most often in Gabon (11), Nigeria (6), Ghana (5) and Angola (4).

The United States refused 25% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 84 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 112 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Visa-free travel with the passport of São Tomé and Príncipe

By continent, the passport of São Tomé and Príncipe is visa-free in 12 countries in the Americas, 9 countries in Africa, 5 countries in Asia, 1 country in Europe and 1 country in Oceania. The longest visa-free stays for citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe are allowed in El Salvador (180 days), Barbados (90 days), Benin (90 days), the Bahamas (90 days), Ecuador (90 days) and Ghana (90 days).

Visa on arrival

Citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe can get a visa at the airport or land border of Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt and 23 others.

E-Visa and electronic travel authorisation

An e-Visa, applied for online before the trip, is how citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe enter Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana and 38 others. Ivory Coast and Suriname ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

How the passport compares

Of the 198 passports in the data, 57 can enter visa-free, 1 get a visa on arrival and 140 need an e-Visa for São Tomé and Príncipe.