Visa-Free Countries for South African citizens (2026)
A South African passport enters 68 countries visa-free, gets a visa on arrival in 25 more, and an eTA in 4 — 97 of 198 destinations you can reach without arranging a visa before you go. That ranks the South African passport 97 of 199 worldwide. 34 need an e-visa applied for online, and 67 need a consular visa. As of 20 July 2026.
- 68
- VISA-FREE
- 4
- ETA
- 25
- VISA ON ARRIVAL
- 34
- E-VISA
- 67
- VISA REQUIRED
#97of 199 passports by no-prior-visa access — see the full ranking →
Counts are for a standard tourist passport, from our open visa-matrix dataset, which cross-checks Wikipedia against a second source and records every disagreement rather than picking one silently. This is a starting point, not legal advice — a rule can change between snapshots, so confirm the current requirement with the destination's official source before you book. Rows marked ⚑ disputed are corridors where our two sources disagree; treat those as "verify first".
Visa-free 68
Walk up to the border with just your passport. No form, no fee, no advance step.
- Angola90d
- Antigua and Barbuda180d
- Argentina90d
- Bahamas90d
- Barbados180d
- Belarus3d⚑
- Belize
- Benin90d
- Bolivia90d
- Botswana90d
- Brazil90d
- Chile90d
- Costa Rica90d
- Dominica180d
- Dominican Republic90d
- Ecuador90d
- El Salvador90d
- Eswatini30d
- Fiji120d
- Gabon30d
- Gambia90d
- Georgia365d
- Ghana90d
- Grenada90d
- Guatemala90d
- Guyana90d
- Haiti90d
- Honduras90d
- Hong Kong30d
- Iran⚑
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan⚑
- Kenya90d
- Kiribati90d
- Kosovo90d⚑
- Lesotho90d
- Macao30d
- Malawi90d
- Malaysia90d
- Mauritius180d
- Micronesia30d
- Mozambique90d
- Namibia90d
- Nicaragua90d
- Norway⚑
- Oman14d⚑
- Palestine
- Panama90d
- Paraguay90d
- Peru90d
- Philippines30d
- Qatar30d⚑
- Russia90d
- Rwanda30d
- Saint Lucia42d
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines90d
- Seychelles90d
- Singapore30d
- Tanzania90d
- Thailand60d
- Trinidad and Tobago90d
- Tunisia90d
- Uruguay90d
- Vanuatu120d
- Venezuela90d
- Vietnam30d⚑
- Zambia90d
- Zimbabwe90d
Electronic authorisation (eTA) 4
Visa-free in practice, but you must register an eTA online before you fly. Minutes, not weeks.
- Israel90d
- Saint Kitts and Nevis90d
- South Korea30d
- Sri Lanka30d⚑
Visa on arrival 25
Nothing to arrange in advance — the visa is issued at the border, usually for a fee.
- Armenia120d
- Bahrain14d⚑
- Burundi30d
- Cabo Verde30d
- Cambodia30d
- Comoros45d
- East Timor30d
- Egypt30d
- Ethiopia90d
- Guinea-Bissau90d
- Indonesia30d
- Jordan30d
- Kyrgyzstan60d
- Laos30d
- Madagascar90d
- Maldives30d
- Marshall Islands90d
- Nepal90d
- Palau30d
- Samoa90d
- Saudi Arabia90d
- Senegal30d
- Sierra Leone30d
- Tajikistan60d
- Tuvalu30d
E-visa (apply online first) 34
You must apply and be approved online before departure. Not a border formality.
- Afghanistan30d⚑
- Albania90d
- Azerbaijan30d
- Bhutan90d
- Burkina Faso
- Burma28d
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Colombia
- Cuba90d
- Djibouti90d⚑
- DR Congo7d
- Equatorial Guinea
- Guinea90d
- India30d
- Iraq30d
- Ivory Coast90d⚑
- Japan90d
- Libya
- Mauritania30d
- Mongolia30d
- Nigeria30d
- Pakistan90d
- Papua New Guinea30d⚑
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Serbia90d⚑
- Somalia30d
- South Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- Togo15d
- Turkey30d
- Uganda90d
- Ukraine30d
Visa required 67
A consular visa is needed before travel — start early.
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Australia⚑
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- China
- Congo
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Mali
- Malta
- Mexico
- Moldova⚑
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Niger
- North Korea
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tonga
- Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates⚑
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Vatican
- Yemen
People also ask
How many countries can South African citizens visit visa-free?
68 destinations, with no form and no fee — you arrive and the passport is stamped at the border. Add the 25 that issue a visa on arrival and the 4 that need only an eTA registered online, and 97 of 198 destinations need no visa arranged before you fly. As of 20 July 2026.
How strong is the South African passport?
It ranks 97 of 199 passports by no-prior-visa access, reaching 97 of 198 destinations without arranging a visa first. That figure counts visa-free and freedom-of-movement entry plus eTA and visa on arrival. As of 20 July 2026.
Which countries require a visa for South African citizens?
67 destinations need a consular visa applied for before travel, and 34 more need an e-visa approved online first. Both groups are listed in full above. The dataset records the requirement itself, not the fee or the processing time — confirm those with the destination's own authority. As of 20 July 2026.
What is the difference between an eTA and an e-visa for South African citizens?
An eTA is a registration; an e-visa is an application. A South African passport needs an eTA for 4 destinations — minutes online, then you fly — and a full e-visa for 34, which must be approved before departure. Neither one is issued at the border, so both have to be done before you travel.
How current is this visa-free list for South African citizens?
It is a dated snapshot, checked 20 July 2026, built by cross-checking two sources and recording every disagreement rather than picking one silently. 18 of this passport's 198 corridors are marked disputed. Entry rules change between snapshots, so confirm with the destination's official source before booking.