Visa Requirements for South Africans

Are you a South African planning on going overseas? Preparation is key when it comes to travelling. Aside from packing your bags, saving spending money, and making sure you have your necessary toiletries and prescribed medication, a visa or electronic travel authorisation may be necessary depending on your destination.

Avoid Advice from Social Media

When applying for a visa, never rely on hearsay from social media groups. In particular, ignore any advice to misrepresent facts or lie on your visa application - this can result in a long-term ban or arrest. Always work through official embassy channels or accredited visa processing centres (such as VFS Global or TLScontact).

Passport Application & Validity Rules

To travel outside South Africa, every traveller needs a valid passport - even when travelling to a visa-free destination. Most countries require your passport to remain valid for at least 6 months after your planned return date, alongside at least 2 to 3 blank visa pages for entry and exit stamps. We advise keeping at least 9 months of validity left on your passport to cover unforeseen travel delays.

To avoid long queues at traditional Department of Home Affairs (DHA) offices, you can apply online via the eHomeAffairs portal and book a biometrics appointment at participating branches of Absa, Capitec, Discovery Bank, FNB, Investec, Nedbank, and Standard Bank, or apply directly at your nearest Home Affairs office.

Note that the Department of Home Affairs no longer issues temporary passports; emergency travel documents are issued strictly for genuine emergencies and are not accepted for routine tourist travel by most countries (including Botswana and European states).

General Visa Application Requirements

When applying for an international tourist visa as a South African, you will generally need to provide:

• Valid Passport: At least 6 months validity remaining after your return date and a minimum of 2 to 3 blank pages.
• Proof of Sufficient Funds: Stamped bank statements (usually covering the past 3 to 6 months) demonstrating that you can support yourself during the trip.
• Return or Onward Flight Ticket: Confirmed return flight reservations (check whether the embassy accepts provisional bookings before paying for non-refundable fares).
• Proof of Accommodation: Hotel bookings, tour confirmations, or an official letter of invitation from your host.
• Transit Visas: If you have a connecting flight, verify with your airline whether the country you transit through requires an airport transit visa (for example, transiting through the UK or USA).
• Yellow Fever Certificate: Required when travelling to or transiting through designated Yellow Fever belt countries in Africa and South America.

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Key Destination Notes & Pitfalls

Schengen Biometrics & In-Person Applications

Fingerprints and biometric photos are mandatory for Schengen visa applications (children under the age of 12 are exempt from fingerprinting). You must appear in person unless your biometrics have been captured for a previous Schengen visa within the last 59 months.

Non-Refundable Application Fees

If your visa application is declined, embassy and VFS processing fees are strictly non-refundable. Prepare your supporting documentation carefully the first time, and avoid booking non-refundable flight fares until your visa is issued.

Single vs Multiple-Entry Visas

"My 4th experience to remember came a few weeks later when we decided to catch a hydrofoil from Rhodes to Turkey for a day trip. Fortunately we had booked but not paid for the trip. We arrived at the harbour and were about to board the hydrofoil, when one of the immigration officials asked us where we were going to go after Turkey. We told him we were planning to come back to Greece. It transpired that if we left Greece we would not be allowed to return to pick up our bags and flight tickets - the reason being that we only had a single-entry visa. So lesson number 4 for any adventurous traveller is: 'Make sure that you have a double-entry or multiple-entry visa (preferably before you board a boat)'."

By Carol Clifford. For Carol's first 3 lessons in travel, see (1) why bags must have wheels, (2) when in Austria do as the Austrians do, and (3) local cuisine may differ from what we're used to.

Foreign Laws & Overstaying

When travelling internationally, the laws of the host country apply to everyone equally. Overstaying your tourist visa or violating local regulations can result in detention, fines, deportation, and multi-year re-entry bans. Always keep emergency embassy contact details on hand.

Visitors to South Africa

If you hold a foreign passport and want to visit South Africa, see our guide to visa requirements to visit South Africa.

Historical Visa News Archive

• 10 July 2024: Ireland introduces mandatory visa requirements for South African and Botswanan passport holders.
• 4 Feb 2019: Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom reveals that SA is considering issuing 10-year multiple-entry visas for Chinese nationals and recognising existing Australian, US, or Schengen visas.
• April 2017: Russia and South Africa implement mutual visa-free travel for stays of up to 90 days.
• 9 March 2017: Read our dedicated guide on how to get an Indian visa if you're South African.
• October 2016: New Zealand ends visa-free travel for South African citizens, requiring visitors to apply for a visa prior to travel.
• April 2015: The UK launches a priority 24-hour super-priority visa service in South Africa for urgent travellers. See our UK visa guide for details on the application process.
• 1 September 2014: Thailand allows South Africans to apply for a 30-day extension on top of their 30-day visa-free tourist entry.
• 1 September 2014: The South African Department of Home Affairs ceases issuing temporary passports, replacing them with Emergency Travel Documents for genuine emergencies only.

What to Expect When You Emigrate

"Baby, I've been thinking 'bout a trailer by the sea.
We could go to Mexico - you, the cat and me.
We'll drink tequila and look for sea shells.
Now, doesn't that sound sweet?"

Don't be under the illusion that it's going to be all sunshine and butterflies just because you've moved. It's going to be difficult and require hard work.

You'll be lonely for a really long time - it's crippling. It'll be hard to say goodbye at the airport (but it'll be even harder to say goodbye for those who're staying behind - you're doing what they want to do, but don't have the guts to do). It's harder to make new friends as an adult; in this respect your children will probably adjust quicker. Those friends you do make you won't have a long history with and the same connectivity. Your marriage or relationship will suffer a range of strains, especially if one partner was more keen to emigrate than the other. You will use social media and messaging apps to stay in touch, probably very frequently at first. You'll invite your family to visit you and you'll return regularly on holiday. A sign of progress will be when you start holidaying elsewhere.

You will likely find some respite by befriending fellow South African emigrants who are going through the same experience. If you're single, try online dating - falling in love is great for soothing the pain; having children and them going to school in your new country lays deep roots. You may start drinking more, or even turn to using drugs. It'll never be the same (but will hopefully eventually be better); expect at least 3 years of loneliness and longing for being back in the vaderland.

Your standard of living may change. It will ease the pain if you're earning more than back home, but you need to be earning more net of expenses (which are typically higher than in South Africa). You may find that you have a degree, but can't find a job, so have to do something completely different - maybe become a bus driver. Whatever savings you made in SA will likely have a far lower purchasing power in the new country, and you will likely have to retire at an older age. You won't have the luxury of a dedicated domestic worker, gardener, and au pair. The more likely scenario is that you'll get a cleaning service to come in once a week to do a thorough clean.

The fresh start may energise you to go out and do things and meet people, rather than sit at home boozing. The benefits of emigrating show themselves most strongly over the medium to long term, and over time you'll find that you're living your dream existence. Exposure to a new culture and place may result in you broadening your view on what is possible, and you may start doing things you'd never have thought of doing back in South Africa. If you were previously depressed, you may find a new lease on life.

Written by Rob Baker