Lifestyle

9 awesome countries South Africans can visit visa-free in 2019

Staff Writer

 ·17 Aug 2019

Citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners has published its latest passport index, with South Africans now able to visit 99 countries visa-free or through a visa-on-arrival.

South Africa dropped to 54th place on the ranking (down from 51st) after Djibouti changed its policy from visa-on-arrival to an e-visa system.

The Seychelles continues to occupy first place in the Sub-Saharan region, moving up to 27th place globally, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 150.

Mauritius is second, with a score of 145, and South Africa retains its third place regionally. At the other end of the mobility spectrum in Africa, Somalia sits in last place, with citizens able to access just 31 destinations without a prior visa.

While South Africa has seen a decline in rankings over the past few years, recent announcements by the Department of Home Affairs could see the country improve its place considerably.

In July minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi announced that seven new countries will be added to the list of nations that are able to come to South Africa without a visa.

Because visa-access is often reciprocal, a department spokesperson confirmed to BusinessTech that it was planning talks with countries like New Zealand to allow for visa-free access for South Africans.

With the possibility of South Africans being able to visit more countries without a visa in the future, BusinessTech looked at nine countries we can visit visa-free right now:

Bahamas

Barbados

Hong Kong

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Malaysia

Seychelles

Thailand

These are the countries South African passport holders can access without a visa:

* Indicates visa on arrival or eTA.

Africa

Asia 

Europe 

Oceania 

Caribbean 

Americas 

Middle East/Other 

Read: New UK visa changes are good news for skilled South Africans