Visa requirements for South Sudanese citizens

South Sudanese 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 Sudan and 5 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).

No country asks holders of the South Sudanese passport for a visa beforehand while its own citizens enter South Sudan without one.

The reverse holds for 36 countries: holders of the South Sudanese passport get in without a visa obtained in advance, but their citizens need one for South Sudan (Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Botswana, Cambodia and 31 others).

107 countries ask holders of the South Sudanese passport for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 18 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in South Sudan.

89 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in South Sudan, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country. Counting the post an official diplomatic list names for South Sudan, or else the nearest one within 2,000 km, those posts are most often in Kenya (11), Ethiopia (9), Uganda (5) and Sudan (2).

The United States refused 76% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of South Sudan in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 192 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 4 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Visa-free travel with the South Sudanese passport

By continent, the South Sudanese passport is visa-free in 9 countries in Africa, 4 countries in the Americas, 3 countries in Asia and 1 country in Oceania. The longest visa-free stays for South Sudanese citizens are allowed in Kenya (180 days), Rwanda (180 days), Uganda (180 days), Barbados (90 days), Burundi (90 days) and Benin (90 days).

Visa on arrival

South Sudanese citizens can get a visa at the airport or land border of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cape Verde, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia and 16 others.

E-Visa and electronic travel authorisation

An e-Visa, applied for online before the trip, is how South Sudanese citizens enter Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia and 43 others. Ivory Coast and Suriname ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

South Sudan’s neighbours

Kenya and Uganda admit South Sudanese citizens without a visa. For the other neighbours, the rules are: DR Congo (e-Visa for up to 7 days), the Central African Republic (visa required), Ethiopia (visa on arrival for up to 90 days) and Sudan (visa required).

How the passport compares

Among neighbouring passports, the Kenyan passport ranks 127th (67 destinations), the Ugandan passport ranks 135th (63 destinations), the passport of the Central African Republic ranks 168th (49 destinations), the Ethiopian passport ranks 180th (43 destinations) and the passport of DR Congo ranks 181st (42 destinations). Of the 198 passports in the data, 3 can enter visa-free, 2 get a visa on arrival and 193 need an e-Visa for South Sudan.