Lifestyle

All the countries South Africans can travel to visa-free

Luke Fraser

 ·20 Jan 2025

There are currently 106 countries that South Africans can travel to without a visa, with the vast majority in Africa, Asia and South America.

According to the latest Henley Passport ranking for 2025, South Africa’s passport is the 48th strongest in the world, allowing visa-free access to 106 countries.

The Henley Passport Index is seen as the most authoritative measure of passport power.

It evaluates 199 passports against 227 travel destinations and also relies on data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and extensive supplementary research.

As per the rankings, South Africa is situated between Qatar and Belize, but it is still far behind Singapore, which allows visa-free travel to 195 countries across the globe.

South Africa has entered the top 50 for the first time since 2014, highlighting relatively improved mobility for South Africans.

Many other countries saw the number of visa-free destinations that they could travel to decrease, including major EU members like France, Germany and Italy.

South Africa’s access to visa-free travel remains unchanged from the second half of the year and only jumped the rankings following the drops seen by other nations.

The most recent move in South Africa’s visa-free travel situation involved Ireland cutting visa-free access to South Africans.

Since July 2024, South Africans and Botswanas have needed to acquire a visa before travelling to Ireland.

The island nation said that it had seen a notable rise in International Protection applications from citizens of Botswana and South Africa.

The rest of Europe, apart from Russia, Kosovo and Georgia, also require a visa from South African travellers.

This is despite several countries, especially the UK, having a large South African diaspora.

Other immigrant hotspots for South Africans also require a visa, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and Portugal.

Notably, other BRICS members still need a visa from South African visitors such as China, India and the UAE require a visa.

Looking at the list, most countries where South Africans can travel visa-free are in Africa, South America and Asia.

Popular tourist destinations such as Mauritius, Thailand, and Brazil also do not need visas.

Business hubs Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia also do not need visas from South Africans.

Interestingly, Israel allows visa-free travel for South Africans despite South Africa accusing the country of genocide at the International Court of Justice in 2024.

The countries where South Africans can travel without a visa can be found below:

Africa

Americas 

Asia

Caribbean

Europe

Middle East 

Oceania 

Note: *visa on arrival; **eTA [electronic travel authorisation])

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