South Africa Entry Requirements: Visas, ETA & Travel Documents

Your preparation also depends on how you arrive. South Africa’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) operates at selected airports, while the SARS traveller declaration is a separate customs requirement. Start with your passport’s visa position, then work through the documents and forms for your journey.

Do you need a visa to visit South Africa?

Your passport nationality, passport type, purpose of travel and intended stay determine the route. Living in a visa-exempt country does not give you that country’s passport exemption.

These examples cover ordinary passports and short tourist visits:

The official visa-exemption list covers additional countries and passport categories. The examples above are not a complete list, and some other nationalities have annual limits or additional conditions.

South Africa does not issue tourist visas on arrival. If you need a visa, arrange it before departure. The term “port of entry visa” refers to permission obtained in advance to travel to the border.

Once admitted, check the departure deadline recorded by immigration. The validity of a travel authorisation and the length of your permitted stay are different dates.

When to use the ETA or apply for a visa in advance

Visa-exempt tourists can use standard immigration processing without an ETA. Eligible visitors who need a visa can use the ETA route when their nationality and journey are supported.

The official ETA portal currently lists four arrival airports:

• OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.

• Cape Town International Airport.

• King Shaka International Airport, Durban.

• Lanseria International Airport.

The process involves passport details, travel information, a live facial photograph and payment where applicable. Use the passport you will carry on the trip, and save the approval with your travel documents.

Country coverage and application options are being introduced in stages. Match the available route to your nationality and arrival airport before making the application; the airport list does not extend ETA access to land or sea borders.

Applying through a mission or visa centre

Mission and application-centre routes remain relevant when ETA is unavailable for your case. The separate eVisa system is another option where eligible; an online application form alone does not establish eligibility.

South Africa’s New Delhi mission, for example, directs applicants from Bangladesh and Nepal to VFS New Delhi, while its Ankara embassy accepts applications from Uzbekistan. Your country of lawful residence can affect which office handles the application.

Use the responsible office’s document list and processing arrangements. Submit early enough for assessment before travel, rather than building a trip around an assumed instant approval.

Check your passport and supporting documents

Standard tourist-entry guidance requires your passport to remain valid for at least 30 days after your intended departure from South Africa. Travel with at least two unused visa pages.

ETA applications have a separate published passport condition. The portal specifies at least seven months’ validity from the intended travel date, together with validity extending at least 30 days beyond visa expiry. Meeting the general border rule alone may therefore be insufficient for an ETA application.

Keep the following readily accessible:

• Your passport and visa or ETA approval, where required.

• A return or onward ticket.

• Accommodation details or your host’s address and contact information.

• Evidence that you can cover the cost of the visit.

• A yellow fever certificate when your route requires one.

• Any additional documents required for a child’s journey.

Save copies of bookings and approvals offline so you can show them without relying on airport Wi-Fi. Keep original documents with you where required.

After arrival, a Roafly South Africa eSIM can provide mobile data for retrieving reservations and messaging your accommodation or transfer provider on a compatible, unlocked phone.

Complete the SARS traveller declaration before travelling

Since 1 July 2026, travellers entering or leaving South Africa through air, land, sea and rail ports must submit an online traveller declaration, subject to the applicable exceptions. It covers customs information, including goods and currency.

Complete the SARS traveller declaration during the 24 hours before departure. For a connecting flight to South Africa, use the departure of the final flight that takes you directly into the country.

That distinction matters on a long itinerary: the relevant window is tied to the final inbound leg, which may depart much later than your first flight.

Parents or another assisting person can complete declarations for children. Air and sea passengers who remain within the designated transit area are exempt from this declaration requirement.

If you reach the border without completing the form, SARS provides assistance. Failure to submit it in advance is not, by itself, grounds to refuse entry or departure.

The declaration handles customs; it does not replace immigration permission. Our guide to South Africa customs rules covers the separate questions about what you can bring and what needs declaring.

Travelling with children

South Africa’s child-document rules distinguish between accompanied foreign visa-exempt children, children who need visas and children travelling alone.

Accompanied children from visa-exempt countries

Accompanied foreign visa-exempt children generally need a valid passport for South African immigration. The waiver removes the blanket requirement to present a birth certificate or parental-consent letter when travelling with one parent, a legal guardian or another accompanying adult.

Separate requirements can still apply under the airline’s policy or the departure and transit countries’ rules. Check those arrangements for the actual journey, especially when the accompanying adult is not a parent.

Children who need visas or travel alone

Visa-required children must meet the document requirements of their application route. Each child needs their own travel documents; an adult’s approval does not cover the whole family.

Unaccompanied minors need additional paperwork, including a birth-certificate copy, parental consent, parent or guardian identification and contact details, and information about the person receiving them in South Africa.

The ETA FAQ checked on 8 November 2026 describes applications for minors as a future phase. Families whose children need visas should use the available mission or eligible application route rather than assume the adult ETA process also accepts children.

When you need a yellow fever certificate

The yellow fever certificate requirement depends on where you have travelled from or transited, rather than your passport nationality.

South Africa requires a valid certificate for travellers over one year of age arriving from a yellow fever risk country. It also applies after airport transit exceeding 12 hours in a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission.

Review every stop on the itinerary, including the return journey after visiting another country. A long connection can change the document requirement even if you never leave the airport.

Where vaccination is required, the initial vaccination must be administered at least 10 days before departure for South Africa. Valid yellow fever vaccination certificates have lifetime validity. Ask a travel-health professional about vaccination suitability or a medical exemption if needed.

Connecting flights, land borders and return visits

International airside transit through OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria generally benefits from a transit-visa exemption. Ordinary passport holders from Pakistan and Bangladesh are an exception and require the appropriate transit or entry visa.

Remaining airside is different from entering South Africa. Collecting baggage for a separate booking, transferring to a domestic flight or leaving for an overnight hotel can require you to pass immigration. In those cases, apply the entry rules for your passport.

If your connection includes a hotel outside the airport, plan the journey as well as the paperwork. Our guide to airport transfers and transport in South Africa covers the onward travel choices.

Crossing by land or returning after a side trip

Road journeys through South Africa fall under the normal entry rules for your passport. At a land border, use the applicable visa exemption or obtain the required entry permission in advance.

If you plan to leave South Africa and return during the same trip, check that your permission allows the intended entries and remains valid. Do not assume a short visit to a neighbouring country starts a fresh 30- or 90-day allowance.

Longer stays require the appropriate extension process for your existing permission. Arrange this before the permitted stay expires; an application should not be treated as an approved extension.

Before you leave for the airport

Prepare a small travel folder containing your passport details, required approval, return or onward booking, accommodation address and any child or health documents. Keep the originals you need in your hand luggage, with digital copies available offline.

Complete the SARS declaration in its travel window and make sure your first-night arrival arrangements are settled. Our practical guide to staying safe in South Africa helps with planning beyond the immigration counter.

If you intend to arrange mobile data before departure, compare allowances, validity and providers in our best eSIM for South Africa guide. Have your accommodation address and pickup instructions saved before you board, so your arrival plan is ready when you land.