Visa requirements for South African citizens

South African citizens 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, South Africa and 50 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).

43 countries ask holders of the South African passport for a visa beforehand, although their own citizens enter South Africa without one: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and 38 others.

The reverse holds for 44 countries: holders of the South African passport get in without a visa obtained in advance, but their citizens need one for South Africa (Armenia, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Djibouti and 39 others).

69 countries ask holders of the South African passport for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 48 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in South Africa.

21 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in South Africa, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country.

The United States refused 12% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of South Africa in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 38 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 158 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Schengen consulates in South Africa refused 5.3% of short-stay visa applications in 2025 (all Schengen consulates worldwide: 15%). Among the 74 countries where they received at least 10,000 applications, that is the 64th highest rate. The figure counts every nationality applying there, not only citizens.

Visa-free travel with the South African passport

By continent, the South African passport is visa-free in 28 countries in the Americas, 19 countries in Africa, 8 countries in Asia, 4 countries in Oceania and 1 country in Europe. The longest visa-free stays for South African citizens are allowed in Georgia (360 days), Antigua and Barbuda (180 days), Barbados (180 days), Costa Rica (180 days), Dominica (180 days) and Peru (180 days).

Visa on arrival

South African citizens can get a visa at the airport or land border of Armenia, 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 South African citizens enter Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and 28 others. Israel, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis and South Korea ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

South Africa’s neighbours

Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho admit South African citizens without a visa.

How the passport compares

Among neighbouring passports, the passport of Botswana ranks 116th (73 destinations), the passport of Lesotho ranks 121st (71 destinations), the Namibian passport ranks 123rd (70 destinations), the passport of Eswatini ranks 124th (69 destinations) and the Zimbabwean passport ranks 141st (60 destinations). Of the 198 passports in the data, 93 can enter visa-free, 27 need an e-Visa and 78 need a visa from an embassy or consulate for South Africa.