74 countries South Africans are allowed to visit without a visa

According to the VisaGuide Passport Index, the South African passport ranks 98th in the world, as of January 2024.

This ranking allows South African citizens who are passport holders to travel without a visa to 74 different countries across the globe. This saves on the expense and the lengthy process of applying for a visa to travel.

Here’s the full list of countries South African citizens can visit, visa-free:

1. Angola
2. Antigua and Barbuda
3. Argentina
4. Bahamas
5. Barbados
6. Belize
7. Benin
8. Botswana
9. Brazil
10. British Virgin Islands
11. Cayman Islands
12. Chile
13. Cook Islands
14. Costa Rica
15. Dominica
16. Dominican Republic
17. Ecuador
18. El Salvador
19. Falkland Islands
20. Fiji
21. Gabon
22. Georgia
23. Ghana
24. Grenada
25. Guatemala
26. Guyana
27. Haiti
28. Honduras
29. Hong Kong
30. Ireland
31. Israel
32. Jamaica
33. Kenya
34. Kiribati
35. Kosovo
36. Lesotho
37. Macau
38. Malawi
39. Malaysia
40. Mauritius
41. Micronesia
42. Montserrat
43. Mozambique
44. Namibia
45. Nicaragua
46. Niue
47. Pakistan
48. Palestine
49. Panama
50. Paraguay
51. Peru
52. Philippines
53. Qatar
54. Réunion
55. Russia
56. Singapore
57. South Korea
58. Saint Kitts and Nevis
59. Saint Lucia
60. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
61. Suriname
62. Tanzania
63. Thailand
64. Gambia
65. Togo
66. Trinidad and Tobago
67. Tunisia
68. Turks and Caicos Islands
69. Uruguay
70. Vanuatu
71. Venezuela
72. Zambia
73. Zimbabwe
74. Eswatini

You may enter these countries without a visa but a passport that’s valid for at least six months after your departure date will still be required for international travel.

And while you may be cutting costs on the visa-free travel, an article published by BussinessTech in July 2023 highlights another “endearing” expense for South Africans looking to travel internationally.

The article states:

“In November [2022], passports domestically saw a 50% price change – up from R200 to R600. Larger books for jet setters are now R1,200.”

According to Aaron Motsoaledi, the Minister of Home Affairs, this price hike was brought on by South Africa’s passport costing three times less than several other countries. According to Motsoaledi, the nation hadn’t seen a passport price hike in over a decade.

Along with passport expenses, one must also bear in mind that most countries require travel health insurance, too – another costly but necessary requirement for international travel.

ALSO SEE:

Why is travel insurance important?

Feature Image: Pexels