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South Africa is a country located in the south of the African continent. South Africa, or the Republic of South Africa (RSA), has a population of 60 million people. South Africa has the reputation of being a vacation destination with breathtaking holidays, First-World infrastructure, dramatic mountains, and superb beaches.

The South African government offers several types of visas for foreigners who like to visit South Africa based on their travel purpose. This article will discuss African visas, different types of them, South African visa exemptions, and nationals who need to apply for visas.

Who can get a South Africa visa?

Getting a South African visa allows foreigners to travel to South Africa. When a foreigner arrives there, immigration officials will decide if the foreigner is allowed to enter South Africa. Immigration officers also decide how long the foreigner can stay in South Africa. Visitors are limited to do the activities related to the purpose of their travel for which their South African visas were confirmed.

The date foreigners enter South Africa is the starting point for calculating the period of visa validity. If a foreigner arrives without a visa and tries to enter the country, immigration officials are obligated to board them onto a flight back to their home country.

Citizens of the following countries are required to apply for a South African visa in order to travel to this country:

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaArmenia
AzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBelarus
BermudaBhutanBosnia and HerzegovinaBrunei
BulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodia
The central African RepublicChadColombiaComoros
CongoCôte d’IvoireCroatiaCuba
DjiboutiDominican RepublicEl SalvadorEquatorial Guinea
EritreaEstoniaFaroe IslandsFiji
French GuianaThe GambiaGeorgiaGhana
GibraltarGreenlandGuatemalaGuinea
Guinea-BissauHondurasIndonesiaIraq
KazakhstanKiribatiKosovoKuwait
KyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanon
LiberiaLibyaLithuaniaMacedonia
MadagascarMaliMauritaniaMoldova
MongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMyanmar
NepalNicaraguaNigerNorth Korea
OmanPuerto RicoRomaniaRwanda
Sao Tome and PrincipeSenegalSerbiaSierra Leone
SlovakiaSloveniaSomaliaSouth Sudan
Sri LankaSudanSurinameSyria
TaiwanTajikistanTimor-LesteTogo
TunisiaTurkmenistanUkraineUzbekistan
VietnamYemen 
Who needs a South Africa Visa

South Africa Visa Exemption

At the moment, 52 countries benefit from the visa exemption program. Citizens of the following countries can enter South Africa without a visa for 90 days:

AndorraArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBelgium
BotswanaBrazilCanadaChileCzech Republic
DenmarkEcuadorFinlandFranceGermany
GreeceIcelandIrelandIsraelItaly
JamaicaJapanLiechtensteinLuxembourgMalta
MonacoMozambiqueNamibiaNetherlandsNew Zealand
NorwayPanamaParaguayPortugalQatar
RussiaSt Vincent & the GrenadinesSan MarinoSingaporeSpain
SwedenSwitzerlandTanzaniaTrinidad & TobagoUnited Arab Emirates
United KingdomUnited StatesUruguayVenezuelaZambia
Zimbabwe 

There are 28 countries whose citizens can enter South Africa for up to 30 days without a visa:

AngolaAntigua and BarbudaBahamasBarbadosBelize
BeninBoliviaCape VerdeCosta RicaCyprus
EswatiniGabonGuyanaHong KongHungary
JordanLesothoMacauMalawiMalaysia
MaldivesMauritiusPeruPolandSeychelles
South KoreaThailandTurkey 

What are South African Visa Types?

The South African government issues three main types of visas:

Each visa type may include different variations. These visas are issued for at least one of the reasons below:

  • Paying a Visit to family members or friends
  • Tourism purposes
  • Business purposes
  • Meeting with a spouse who is a South African citizen or has a work or study visa.
  • Children to meet with their parents who are in South Africa on work or study visas
  • Partner to reunite with their fiancé/fiancée( if they plan to get married within 90 days)
  • Study purposes for short-time courses up to 3 months
  • Charitable activities
  • Research purposes
  • Attending conferences
  • To work in a movie or a show production process
  • For short-time medical procedures up to 3 months
  • To attend sporting events

Do I Need a Visa to Transit Through South Africa?

Foreigners with long-term work visas or residence visas from countries that are neighbors of South Africa do not need a visa for transit under two conditions:

  • Those foreigners are trying to return to their employment or residence.
  • They have pieces of evidence of their status.

Let’s sum up…

The South African government issues several types of visas, such as visitor, temporary residence, and permanent visas. These visas are issued to foreigners for different travel purposes like studying, doing business, reuniting with family members, etc. In this article, we mentioned general information about South African visas.

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