Unrecognised or partially recognised countries

More information Territory, Conditions of access ...

Territory	Conditions of access	Notes
Abkhazia	Visa required[266]
Kosovo	Visa not required[267]	90 days
Northern Cyprus	Visa not required[268]	3 months
Palestine	Visa not required[269]	Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed.[270]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		Undefined visa regime in the Western Sahara controlled territory.
Somaliland	Visa on arrival	30 days for 30 US dollars, payable on arrival.[271][272]
South Ossetia	Visa not required[273]	Multiple entry visa to Russia and three day prior notification are required to enter South Ossetia.[274][275]
Taiwan	Visa required[276][277]
Transnistria	Visa not required[278]	Registration required after 24h.[279][280]

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Dependent and autonomous territories

More information Territory, Conditions of access ...

Territory	Conditions of access	Notes
China
Hong Kong	Visa not required[281]	30 days. Landing slip with stay conditions issued upon arrival in place of entry stamp. This is not a permit, however it is used to classify South African citizens as being visa exempted.
Macau	Visa not required[282]	30 days
Denmark
Faroe Islands	Visa required[283]
Greenland	Visa required[284]
France
French Guiana	Visa required[285]
French Polynesia	Visa required[286]
French West Indies	Visa required	Includes overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique and overseas collectivities of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin.
Mayotte	Visa required[287]
New Caledonia	Visa required[288]
Réunion	Visa not required[289]	3 months. Travel to mainland France is prohibited unless in possession of a Valid Schengen Visa, Identity and Visa checks are conducted between Reunion and mainland France/ EU or EEA countries and Switzerland.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Visa required[290]
Wallis and Futuna	Visa required[291]
Netherlands
Aruba	Visa required[292]
Caribbean Netherlands	Visa required[293]	Includes Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
Curaçao	Visa required[294]
Sint Maarten	Visa required[295]
New Zealand
Cook Islands	Visa not required[296]	31 days
Niue	Visa not required[297]	30 days
Tokelau	Visa required[298]
United Kingdom
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	Visa required[299]
Anguilla	eVisa[300]	You do NOT need to apply for a visa if: You have a valid visa to enter the UK, US or Canada. A valid UK, US or Canada visa can be used to enter Anguilla.[301]
Bermuda	Visa required[302]	Visa not required for holders of Canadian, US or UK multiple-entry visa valid for at least 45 days beyond the period of intended stay in Bermuda for a maximum stay of 3 months
British Indian Ocean Territory	Special permit required	Special permit required.[303]
British Virgin Islands	Visa not required[304]	30 days, extensions possible
Cayman Islands	Visa not required[305]	6 months
Falkland Islands	Visa not required[306]
Gibraltar	Visa required[307]	Gibraltar is the only British Overseas Territory which falls under the UK's Visa Policy. UK Visa Required for Entry.
Montserrat	Visa not required[308]	6 months
Pitcairn Islands	Visa not required	14 days visa free and landing fee US$35 or tax of US$5 if not going ashore.[309][310][311]
Ascension Island	eVisa[312][313]	3 months within any year period
Saint Helena	Visitor's Pass required	Visitor's Pass granted on arrival valid for 4/10/21/60/90 days for 12/14/16/20/25 pound sterling.[314]
Tristan da Cunha	Permission required	Permission to land required for 15/30 pounds sterling (yacht/ship passenger) for Tristan da Cunha Island or 20 pounds sterling for Gough Island, Inaccessible Island or Nightingale Islands.[315]
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Permit required	Pre-arrival permit from the Commissioner required (72 hours/1 month for 110/160 pounds sterling).[316][317]
Turks and Caicos Islands	Visa not required[318]	90 days
United States
American Samoa	Visa required[319]
Guam	Visa required[320]
Northern Mariana Islands	Visa required[321]
Puerto Rico	Visa required[322]	US visa is required to visit Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands	Visa required[323]
Antarctica and adjacent islands
Special permits required for  Bouvet Island,  British Antarctic Territory,  French Southern and Antarctic Lands,  Argentine Antarctica, Australian Antarctic Territory, Chilean Antarctic Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land, Ross Dependency.[324][325][326][327][328][329][330][331][332][333][334][335]

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Other territories

More information Territory, Conditions of access ...

Territory	Conditions of access	Notes
Belarus Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park	Visa not required	3 days;[336] must first obtain an electronic pass[337]
China Hainan	Visa on arrival[338]	15 days. Available at Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Visa not required for 15 days for traveling as part of a tourist group (5 or more people)[339]
China Tibet Autonomous Region	TTP required	Tibet Travel Permit required (10 US Dollars).[340][341]
Crimea	Visa required	Visa issued by Russia is required.[342]
Ecuador Galápagos	Pre-registration required	Online pre-registration is required. Transit Control Card must also be obtained at the airport prior to departure.[343]
Eritrea outside Asmara	Travel permit required	To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).[344]
Greece Mount Athos	Special permit required	Special permit required (4 days: 25 euro for Orthodox visitors, 35 euro for non-Orthodox visitors, 18 euro for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.[345][346]
India PAP/RAP	PAP/RAP required	Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for whole states of Nagaland and Sikkim and parts of states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Restricted Area Permit (RAP) required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year.[347][348][349][350][351][352]
Iran Kish Island	Visa not required	Visitors to Kish Island do not require a visa.[353]
Iraqi Kurdistan	Visa required
Fiji Lau Province	Special permission required	Special permission required.[354]
France Clipperton Island	Special permit required	Special permit required.[355]
Kazakhstan	Special permission required	Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.[356]
North Korea outside Pyongyang	Special permit required	People are not allowed to leave the capital city, tourists can only leave the capital with a governmental tourist guide (no independent moving)
Malaysia Sabah and Sarawak	Visa not required	These states have their own immigration authorities and passport is required to travel to them, however the same visa applies.[357]
Maldives outside Malé	Permission required	With the exception of the capital Malé, tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.[358]
Norway Jan Mayen	Permit required	Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours[359] and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.[360]
Norway  Svalbard	Visa not required	Unlimited Stay. Transit Visa not required when transiting Oslo,  Norway to get to Svalbard Airport, Longyear, Svalbard.
Novorossiya	Restricted area	Crossing from Ukraine requires visit purpose to be explained to Ukrainian passport control on exit and those who entered from Russia are not allowed to proceed further into Ukraine.[361]
Russia	Special authorization required	Several closed cities and regions in Russia require special authorization.[362]
Sudan outside Khartoum	Travel permit required	All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
Sudan Darfur	Travel permit required	Separate travel permit is required.[363]
Tajikistan Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province	OIVR permit required	OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.[364][365][366]
UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus	Access Permit required[367]	Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
Korean Demilitarized Zone	Restricted zone.
UNDOF Zone and Ghajar	Restricted zone.
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Special permits required	Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.[368][369][370][371][372][373][374]
Venezuela Margarita Island	Visa not required	All visitors are fingerprinted.[375]
Vietnam Phú Quốc	Visa not required	30 days[376]
Yemen outside Sana’a or Aden	Special permission required	Special permission needed for travel outside Sana’a or Aden.[377]

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Summary of Visa Exemptions

More information Country of Issue where document can be used as an Exemption for entry, for entry to ...

Country of Issue where document can be used as an Exemption for entry	for entry to	Visa or Residence Permit	Notes
United States	Albania  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bermuda of the  United Kingdom  Mexico  Montenegro  North Macedonia  São Tomé and Príncipe  Serbia	Both
Canada	Bermuda of the  United Kingdom  Mexico	Both
United Kingdom	Canada #  New Zealand #  United Arab Emirates #  United Kingdom: +Indefinitely #  Bermuda of the  United Kingdom #	# Holders of the Right of Abode
United Kingdom	Bermuda of the  United Kingdom	Both Indefinite and Temporary Visas
Australia	New Zealand	Australian Permanent Residence

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List of Visa Exemptions

North America

United States of America - South African Citizens in possession of a valid United States Multiple Entry Visa in their passport may enter the following country(ies) visa-free for the time indicated beside, this also includes the countries consisting of the former Yugoslavia:

•  Albania - 90 days
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina - 30 days
•  Bermuda of the  United Kingdom - 3 months (if arriving or transiting from the United States)
•  Mexico - 180 days, see note in Mexico under "Visa Requirements";^[378][379]
•  Montenegro - 30 days
•  North Macedonia - 15 days
•  São Tomé and Príncipe - 15 days
•  Serbia - 90 days

Canada - South African Citizens in possession of a valid Canadian Multiple Entry Visa in their passport may enter the following country(ies) visa-free for the time indicated adjacent:

•  Bermuda of the  United Kingdom - 3 months (if transiting or arriving from Canada)
•  Mexico - 180 days

British Isles

United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Right of Abode in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - South African Citizens who are in possession of a Valid Certificate of Entitlement substantiating their claim to the Right of Abode in the United Kingdom in their South African passport (as either a British National or South African / Commonwealth Citizen) may enter the following Commonwealth Realms / countries for the same period for as a South African Citizen who would usually a Visa but without the Right of Abode in the United Kingdom (+except the United Kingdom as right to reside is automatic):

•  Canada - 6 months
•  United Arab Emirates
•  United Kingdom - Indefinitely

South African citizens in possession of Leave to Remain or Enter holders(whether permanent or temporary) / Ireland Biometric Visa or Permanent Residency holders:

Holder's of a United Kingdom Visa May enter:

 Bermuda of the  United Kingdom - 3 months (if arriving or transiting from the United Kingdom).

Australia

Permanent Residence in the Commonwealth of Australia - South African Citizens with any type of a Valid Australian Permanent Resident Visa electronically granted or as a label still valid may enter the following country:

•  New Zealand - Indefinite. Note: may apply for Permanent Residency in New Zealand after satisfying two years residence with an Australian Resident Visa in New Zealand. Australian Resident Visa is a New Zealand (Indefinite) Visa which is granted at the New Zealand border to Australian Permanent Residents in the form of an entry stamp, if the holder leaves New Zealand the Visa would therefore end and the time spent would not count towards satisfying the Two Year Residence requirement in order to become a New Zealand Permanent Resident (2 years) or a Citizen (5 years). Australian Resident Visa is the name of the Visa given to Australian Permanent Residents or Australian Citizens upon arrival in New Zealand.

Holder's must also consider that they will be able to return to Australia as a Permanent Resident should the expiry of their travel facility on their Australian Permanent Residence occur whilst they are in New Zealand. The Australian Resident Visa granted in New Zealand is indefinite if in New Zealand, however expires when leaving.

As of 1 October 2019, Australian Permanent Residents need to apply for a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) if they wish to enter New Zealand. The ETA is valid for 2 years however there is no time limit on the length of stay, this is just the time the holder must enter within. The cost is NZD 9 on the mobile app and NZD 12 on the internet per traveller and takes about 5 minutes to complete. The aim is to preauthorise travel to New Zealand. Once the Australian Permanent Resident arrives, they will be granted a New Zealand Visa for Australian Residents (Australian Resident Visa) subject to satisfying character requirements. It is very important to consider three things: Validity of Australian Permanent Residence in order to return to Australia or New Zealand, Validity of NZeTA and leaving New Zealand. Leaving New Zealand will terminate the New Zealand Visa for Australian Resident, if the Australian Permanent Resident Visa is not Valid then they will not be able to return to New Zealand or Australia. There are no other costs involved. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/australian-resident-visa

European Union

European Union Family Member - South African Citizens who are travelling with or joining their EU family members in the European Union in a Country other than where their family member is a citizen of does not require a Visa to enter and enjoy the same entry rights and stay, however this would be difficult to prove and as a result, entry could be refused. Visa should be applied for in advance which is usually with no or minimal requirements to meet if the applicant is a family member of an EU Citizen. For instance, a person who wants to travel with their spouse to France where their spouse is a Citizen of the Republic of Lithuania should apply for a Schengen Visa in advance or where a person wants to join their Lithuanian spouse who resides in France should also apply for a Schengen Visa in order to prove their right and avoid misconception. In most cases, airlines will not permit travel without a visa. There is no time limit a family member can stay (indefinite stay), they must just enter before the Visa expires if joining their family or travelling at the same time. There are no costs involved either. European Union citizens and their South African family members will need to apply for settled or pre-settled status if they wish continue residing in the UK after 31 December 2020. Settled Status can be granted when the applicant has resided in the UK for 5 years and is valid indefinitely. In order to maintain settled status, people must visit the UK every 5 years. Pre-Settled status is granted when the applicant has resided in the UK for less than 5 years and is valid for 5 years. In order to maintain pre-settled status, people must visit the UK every two years. However, applicants would have to meet continuous residence until they reach 5 years if they want to qualify for settled status after 31 December 2020. It will not be possible to be granted another pre-settled Visa.

Schengen Visa (Long Stay) - Holder's of a Valid Long Stay Category D Visa who arrive in the Schengen European country of their Visa and apply for a Residence Card shortly after arriving will be able to use their EU residence permit/ card for travel within the Schengen States, if granted.

Blank passport pages

Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages to be available in the passport being presented, typically one or two pages.^[380] Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being valid or available.

Vaccination

Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia, require all incoming passengers older than nine months to one year^[381] to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, as does the South American territory of French Guiana.^[382]

Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.^[383][384]

Passport validity length

Very few countries, such as Paraguay, just require a valid passport on arrival.

However many countries and groupings now require only an identity card – especially from their neighbours. Other countries may have special bilateral arrangements that depart from the generality of their passport validity length policies to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens^[385][386] or even accept passports that have already expired (but not been cancelled).^[387]

Some countries, such as Japan,^[388] Ireland and the United Kingdom,^[389] require a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.

In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid for at least 6 more months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain,^[390] Bhutan, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel,^[391] Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru,^[392] Philippines,^[393] Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.^[394]

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.

Countries requiring passports with a validity of at least 3 months beyond the date of intended departure include Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Montenegro, Nauru, Moldova and New Zealand. Similarly, the EEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all European Union countries (except Ireland) together with Switzerland also require 3 months validity beyond the date of the bearer's intended departure unless the bearer is an EEA or Swiss national.

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include Albania, North Macedonia, Panama, and Senegal.

Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.

Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month beyond the date of intended departure include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Maldives^[395] and South Africa.

Criminal record

Some countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States,^[396] routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have a criminal record while others impose restrictions depending on the type of conviction and the length of the sentence.

Persona non grata

The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning entry into that country. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.^[397]

Israeli stamps

Kuwait,^[398] Lebanon,^[399] Libya,^[400] Syria,^[401] and Yemen^[402] do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017^[update]) stamped at Erez when passing into and out of Gaza.^{[citation needed]}

Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.

Biometrics

Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, be fingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest travellers who refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to change planes rather than go landside.^[403]

Fingerprinting countries/regions include Afghanistan,^[404][405] Argentina,^[406] Brunei, Cambodia,^[407] China,^[408] Ethiopia,^[409] Ghana, Guinea,^[410] India, Japan,^[411][412] Kenya (both fingerprints and a photo are taken),^[413] Malaysia upon entry and departure,^[414] Mongolia, Saudi Arabia,^[415] Singapore, South Korea,^[416] Taiwan, Thailand,^[417] Uganda,^[418] the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Many countries also require a photo be taken of people entering the country. The United States, which does not fully implement exit control formalities at its land frontiers (although long mandated by domestic legislation),^{[419][420][421]} intends to implement facial recognition for passengers departing from international airports to identify people who overstay their visa.^[422]

Together with fingerprint and face recognition, iris scanning is one of three biometric identification technologies internationally standardised since 2006 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for use in e-passports^[423] and the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors who need to apply for a visa.^[424][425]