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What’s in a Visa? South Africans’ gate pass to the world

By December 11, 2015October 10th, 2023finglobal.com

What’s in a Visa? South Africans’ gate pass to the world

December 11, 2015

Whether you’ve emigrated from South Africa, or are still living back home – chances are you have a bit of wanderlust in you. Of course, for those earning in rands, latest developments will make travelling a bit hard. But South African emigrants living abroad and earning in a foreign currency will have no problem embarking on a bit of an R&R expedition.

Of course, last minute planning doesn’t really make it easy. There are transport, accommodation and dining arrangements to be made. And you’ll have to consider whether your South African passport means applying for a Visa or not, else you could be barred entry. Your Visa will obviously also depend on what you want to do in the visiting country – is your trip purely pleasure, or business?

South African passports are ranked 54th (*updated) in the world, which means we don’t enjoy free and automatic entry to all countries. If you want to know which areas you can visit, see our list of countries and requirements below.

Countries you can visit without a Visa

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Benin
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Fiji
  • Georgia
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala
  • Guyana
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • South Korea
  • Lesotho
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Mauritius
  • Micronesia
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Singapore
  • Swaziland
  • Tanzania
  • Thailand
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Uruguay
  • Vanuatu
  • Venezuela
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Countries that require a Visa on arrival

  • Armenia
  • Bolivia
  • Burundi
  • Cambodia
  • Cape Verde
  • Comoros
  • Djibouti
  • Ethiopia
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Iran
  • Jordan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos
  • Madagascar
  • Maldives
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritania
  • Nepal
  • Oman
  • Palau
  • Rwanda
  • Samoa (entry permit on arrival)
  • Seychelles (visitor’s permit on arrival)
  • Somalia
  • Tajikistan
  • Timor-Leste
  • Togo
  • Tuvalu
  • Uganda

Countries that require a Visa

  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Andorra (de facto Visa required)
  • Angola
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain (eVisa)
  • Bangladesh
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bhutan
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Brunei
  • Bulgaria
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Canada
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • China
  • Republic of Congo
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Cote d’Ivoire
  • Croatia
  • Cuba
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Egypt
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Gambia
  • Germany
  • Ghana
  • Greece
  • Guinea
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Iraq
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kiribati
  • North Korea
  • Kuwait
  • Latvia
  • Lebanon
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Macedonia
  • Mali
  • Malta
  • Mexico
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Myanmar (eVisa)
  • Nauru
  • Netherland
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Norway
  • Pakistan
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Qatar
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • San Marino
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Solomon Islands
  • South Sudan
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka (Electronic Travel Authorisation)
  • Sudan
  • Suriname
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Syria
  • Tonga
  • Turkey (eVisa)
  • Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vatican City
  • Vietnam
  • Yemen

Remember that Visa requirements change often, and this list could change at any time, so be sure to enquire in advance if you have travel plans.

Happy travels!

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