visa-free destination ideas for South Africans
Visa-Free destinations for South African
Create your own visited map of The World
Those of us lucky enough to be stuck with the little green South African passport will know full-well the difficulties it brings with exploring this world of ours. Travelling visa-free is far from reality for many trips. We are beset by restrictive limitations with nasty officials who demand endless pages of documents before we’re allowed a visa, for which we still have to pay a hefty fee. So here’s an idea – ditch those countries in favour those who want us there! Here’s a list of who still loves your Rands more than their egos:
Relaxing on the Okavango - from Yimix on Flickr
Visa-free Africa
Being part of SADC (the Southern African Development Community) means we get a lot of opportunities for visa-free travel. Our immediate neighbours offer great variety for the holiday-maker, like the rolling green hills and casinos of Swaziland, game-viewing in Botswana, mountain treks in Lesotho, desert holidays in Namibia, Vic falls in Zimbabwe & Zambia and the snow-white beaches of Mozambique. Across the sea there are also great beach holidays to be had in the Seychelles and Maurtius and don’t forget Kenya which offers a fantastic mix of game-viewing and luxurious resorts on the Mombasa coastline.
Stunning Rio de Janeiro by Andras Jancsik on Flickr
Visa-free South and Central America
You cannot go wrong in South America for visa-free travel, all except three countries offer South Africans entry with just a passport, this opens possibilities to tango and ski in Argentina, cruise the fjords of Chile, visit Inca ruins in Peru, explore the Amazon and chill on the beaches of Brazil. Much of Central America welcomes South Africans too, meaning you can discover Mayan ruins in Guatemala & Belize, explore the jungles of Costa Rica and hop between a myriad of Caribbean islands like Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas – all visa-free.
Visa-free South East Asia
As many South Africans know, much of South East Asia readily allows us in visa-free too, the countries you can visit here include Thailand for it’s jungles, beaches and shopping, Malaysia for top beach resorts and Singapore which is one of the world’s best stopover destinations. The hundreds of islands which make up the Philippines, a nature-rich tourism giant which is slowly awakening, can also be accessed with just your passport.
Vibrant Hong Kong's skyline - from J.E.S. on Flickr
Visa-free Rest of the world
There are countries across the rest of the world which allow South Africans in visa-free for a holiday like emerald-green Ireland. You can also finally check out the rich culture, food and history of Turkey visa-free (since October 2011). Visit the holy sites of Israel and spectacular ruins like the rock city of Petra in Jordan or make your way further east to some serious beach chilling in the Maldives or Fiji. Keep in mind that you can also visit South Korea and the enclaves in China like culturally vibrant Hong Kong and gambling mecca Macau visa-free and last but not least, the natural splendours of New Zealand!
Visas on Arrival
There are a number of countries which you can escape to last minute due to the fact that you can get a visa on arrival too, so keep in mind these fantastic destinations with lots to offer, popular ones highlighted in bold:
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Donminican Republic
- Ethiopia
- Indonesia (eg Bali)
- Laos
- Madagascar (eg Nosy Be)
- Nepal
- Oman
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania (eg Zanzibar)
- Turkey (free on arrival)
- Uganda
NB: you will always need a passport and return/onward ticket out of the country, maximum permitted stay varies; the above information is subject to change without notice and was correct at time of publishing.
Greetings,
Kindly assist me with the list of Visa free holiday destinations for holders of the Nigerian Passport.
Thank you,
Yakubu
Hi Yakuba, I’m afraid I don’t have a comprehensive list like that for Nigerian citizens. The info available here in South Africa on that is quite scarce. I do believe that if there were a list like that drawn up, it would include countries mostly in West Africa with a few other island nations like Fiji. Generally the rule with a Nigerian passport is that you will need a visa for travel outside of your country.
Hope this helps at least a little.
nick do i need invitation letter to visit south korea?pls tell me the truth i’m in hongkong now.they told me i have to get a police report&iv letter before i can go to korea
Regarding travel to Ireland for SA citizens. Travelstart newsletter states that a TRANSIT VISA is required if traveling via UK. This is in fact incorrect as Ireland is part of the “common Travel Area’ and SA citizens transiting through UK in fact require a normal visitor visa – which is more costly, I might add. Please pay special attention to this as it has cost a lot of people a lot of time, money and disappointment at the last minute
Hi Yakubu, I think a very website to explore your enquiries about visa free counties with a Nigerian passport. It will really help you can actually get results for any country in the world. Nick I guess the website will also be useful to travel start users also by maybe creating a link via your website..i hope it helps. Cheers!
Hi Yakubu, I think a very good website to explore your enquiries about visa free countries with a Nigerian passport is http://www.projectvisa.com. It will really help, you can actually get results for any country in the world. Nick I guess the website will also be useful to travel start users also, by creating a link via your website..i hope it helps. Cheers
Hi Vicky … Please give me more information regarding the requirements as I am going over to the UK in September and was wanting to pop over to Ireland for 3 days. I was under the impression that I did not need a visa ????
Hi Heather, you won’t need a visa to visit Ireland on a South African passport, you will need a visa to visit the UK though. If you’re needing some pointers on this, check it out here: http://www.travelstart.com/street/uk-visa-application-how-to-apply-and-where-in-south-africa/
Nick
PLEASE GIVE ME INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT VISA-FREE TO FIJI AND SOUTHERN ITALY. THANKS
Hi Maxwell! You’re allowed into Fiji for up to 4 months without a visa – though you’ll likely have to say where you are staying for that length of time. For Italy, you need a Schengen visa, for more info, see here: http://bit.ly/nn8Tt9
Nick
i am very poor man please free visa coform any country.
Just want confirmation that SA passport holders do not require visas to visit Hong Kong and Thailand if less than 30 days in either area.
Scotty, that’s correct, no visa needed for SA passport holders to Hong Kong or Thailand for a stay of 30 days or less.
It’s really depressing seeing this. It’s only when you live in the UK, like I do.. that you want to be treated the same as the Australians, Kiwi’s Canadaian’s, since they’re also part of this so called “Commenweath of countries” When your in SA your mood is different. ” Ag I’ll just get a visa! No big deal!” It’s when you live here, that you want to be treated the same as the rest of the others Commenwealth memebers.
I mean.. all the countries that we can actually go to, I don’t really want to waste my money going to. It’s like our governemnt doesn’t like us to have fun or something. I mean.. who wants to go to Israil??
Hey Paul,
Great site, thanks buddy.
HELP, I am a South African, and I am planning a trip to Vietnam. I am currently living in China for a few years, and want to know if I need a visa to visit Vietnam for a holiday.
Regards,
Wim
Hi Wim,
as a South African you will need a visa to visit Vietnam, you’ll have to find your nearest Vietnamese consulate in China to enquire about applying for a visa there.
Nick
Hi ,
I see that your website states that you can obtain a Tunisian visa on arrival , this is no longer applicable , it takes up to 21days now , I applied almost a month ago and I am still waiting for my visa – even though it’s a tourist visa.
Hi Nicole, thanks for letting us know. The official channels still state a visa is issued on arrival, though with the change of government there and the fact that we had good relations with the former government of Tunisia, it does stand to reason that they might make it more difficult for our citizens to get to Tunisia. We will continue to monitor for an official statement from the embassy, but thanks for the heads up!
goodday, i would like to go to Chile… how long can I stay for without a visa? thanx and is there any onfo on obtaining a temporary work visa in Chile.
Hi Natania, thanks for getting in touch. You’re allowed to go for up to 90 days without a visa, though for such a long stay, you may be asked at immigration how you are going to support yourself (ie, do you have enough money to support yourself for 90 days). Currently I am not aware of any work-visa agreements the Chilean government has with South Africa, so this would mean you would need to be offered a job in Chile first for them to apply for a work visa for yourself once there, or before hand. Please remember that working in a foreign country without a permit to do so, while often done, is in fact a felony and you can get into trouble with the law if you are caught. I’m not sure how strict the Chilean government is on this though, some countries are more relaxed than others.
This is a great post although I’m wondering how up to date this info is as you definitely need a visa going to Ireland! You also have not included Romania, Cyprus and Bulgaria as visa free destinations for SA’n passport holders?
Hi there! South African passport holders don’t need a visa to visit the Republic of Ireland, however if they fly via the UK or are travelling to Northern Ireland, they will require a visa. For Romania, Cyprus and Bulgaria, you need to hold a visa for those countries, unless you hold a valid Schengen visa, valid beyond your date of departure from any of those countries. Hope this helps!
help Iam somalian have a resedent prmet and I got south african 5years tarevel pupose ducement so plz let tell me how many countries I can go for free visa, thanks
Hi Egal! Thanks for getting in touch. If you are still travelling on a Somali passport, you can still only go to the countries which allow you visa-free entry on that passport. Unfortunately I cannot find a list for Somali passports. If you have a permanent South African passport though, you can visit the destinations listed above visa-free
nick pls tell me now pls,as a south african citizen,do i need IV&Police Report to Visit South Korea?.
I need ur answer now plse,i’m in hongkong now.thanks.check well,find out fro korea Embassy if i need all this thing as a south african citizen pls.
Hi, according to the info at my disposal, if you are staying less than 30 days you will not need a visa to visit South Korea, provided you are on a regular South African passport. The local authorities may request that you show where you are staying in Korea when you arrive, this will can be in the form of a confirmed hotel reservation or invitation letter, though they do no officially state this.
Hi
Where can my wife and I live without any restrictions (UK for eg.) We have no degrees etc. We want to move abroad from South Africa.
We have 2 kids.
Thanks
Craig
Hi Craig,
I’m afraid all countries have restrictions on whether you can live there or not. Each country looks after it’s citizens first and allows foreigners to move there only if they can prove they will provide a valuable asset to that country.
The easiest is New Zealand, for more info on this, please visit: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/
Please Nick i would love it if you can help me with south African visa free countries around the globe and you can as well send me about this to my inbox..Thanks.
Hi Stanley, this article is all about the visa-free countries a South African can travel to. All the info is included above.
pls nick can you clear my sences,i want to visit my friend at new zealand but i’m scare if there is any new law on south african citizen by new zealand land government,i know is 3months free plse reply me.thanks nick.
due to the recent awareness from new zealand government,the speaks that some terrorist country,from the middle east move to south africa,reason to get south african passport,which will be easy for them to travel to some places which is free with south africa book,but there recent law is what i don’t understand,plse nick i want you to help us,thank you.
KingB
Are you a terrorist?? If your NOT, then you’ve got nothing to worry about.!
That’s one of the many reasons why South Africans need visas for certain countries, like Europe or Canada. Is becuase of corrupt government offcials, and becuase like you said.. of terrorism. But if your not a terrorist, then you’ve got nothing to worry about going to New Zealand!