Accommodation, Travel and Visas Visas for South Africa

Visas for South Africa

To determine whether you require a visa to enter South Africa, please visit: http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/index.php/immigration-services. Some detail is provided below.

 

If you require an invitation letter to apply for a visa, please send an e-mail to interact2013@gmail.com. Include the follwoing with your message:

  • Your full name as it appears on your passport.
  • Your passport number, place and authority of issue, as well as expirey date.
  • Your address.
  • If you are the author of an accepted submission, please provide the paper number (passcode).
  • The Registration ID of your registration for the Conference.

 

 

General information about South African Visas

Visitors’ visas are for international travellers (citizens of other countries) who have permanent residence outside South Africa and who wish to visit the country on a temporary basis for tourism or business purposes for a period of 90 days or less.

A visa simply indicates that your application has been reviewed at a South African embassy, mission or consulate and that the consular officer has determined you are eligible to enter the country for a specific purpose.

The visa will allow you to travel to a South African port of entry where an immigration official will then determine if you are allowed to enter South Africa and for how long you can stay for that particular visit. Visitors are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visas were issued.

On entry to South Africa, a visa is considered to be a visitor's permit. The permit’s period of validity is calculated from the date of entry into the country and will be set out under the heading "conditions" on the visa label. You must ensure that you apply for the correct visa/permit. Entry in the country may be refused if the purpose of visit was not correctly stated.

Requirements for visitor’s visas differ from country to country (click here to see which countries are currently exempt), and the requirements are subject to change. As each application is treated as an individual case and you should make enquiries with your nearest South African mission or consulate abroad or any office of the Department of Home Affairs to see whether or not you are required to apply for a visa.

Remember that there is a fee charged for issuing a visa, and you should check the cost with the office as well as this is updated annually. The fee is payable in different currencies in different countries.

Visas are not issued at South African ports of entry, and airline officials are obliged to insist on visas before allowing passengers to board. If you arrive without a visa, immigration officials are obliged to put you onto a flight back to your home country.

 

South African visitors’ visas may be granted for:

  • visits to family or friends and also for tourism purposes
  • business purposes
  • spouse to join a spouse who is in South Africa on a work or study permit
  • children to join parents who are in South Africa on work or study permits
  • fiancée/ fiancé to join his or her partner with the intension of marrying within 90 days
  • study purposes (max stay 3-months)
  • charitable or voluntary activities
  • research
  • conferences
  • to work in the production of an movie or show (i.e. in the entertainment industry)
  • for medical purposes (max stay 3-months)
  • sport events

 

Documents required to apply for a visa

  • A passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of your intended visit
  • Your passport must have at least one unused page for entry / departure endorsements
  • A completed Form BI-84 (application for a visa)
  • Payment of the prescribed fee
  • A yellow-fever vaccination certificate (if required)
  • Statement and/or documentation confirming the purpose and duration of your visit
  • Two colour passport photographs
  • A return or onward ticket if you are travelling by air
  • If you have children (minors) travelling with you or joining in South Africa, you will need to provide the following additional documents
    • Proof of guardianship or custody or
    • Consent from the guardian in the case of an unaccompanied minor
  • Proof of financial means to pay for your living expenses while in South Africa in the form of:
    • Bank statements
    • Salary advances
    • Undertakings by the host(s) in South Africa
    • Bursary
    • Medical cover or
    • Cash available (including credit cards and travellers’ cheques)

Remember, you do not have to submit your visa application in person. You can ask anyone else (such as a travel agent or courier services or another family member) to submit the application on your behalf.

 

Requirements for entering South Africa

You will need the following if you wish to visit South Africa:

  • A valid and acceptable passport or travel document for your intended stay
  • At least one blank page in your passport for endorsements
  • A valid visa, if required
  • Sufficient funds to pay for your day-to-day expenses during your stay
  • A return or onward ticket
  • Yellow fever certificates if your journey starts or entails passing through the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America.

 

Countries exempt from South African Visas

PASSPORT HOLDERS WHO ARE EXEMPT FROM VISAS FOR SOUTH AFRICA

 

SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

 

The citizen who is a holder of a national passport (diplomatic, official and ordinary) of the foreign countries / territories / international organisations listed below are not required to hold a visa when reporting to an immigration officer for an examination at a South African port of entry, subject to the terms and conditions set out in this list, including inter alia the intended period of stay in the Republic.

 

The holder of a national South African passport, travel document and document for travel purposes.

 

The citizen who is a holder of a national passport (diplomatic, official or ordinary) of the following countries / territories / international organisations is not required to hold a visa in respect of purposes for which a visitor’s permit may be issued or by virtue of being a person contemplated in section 31(3)(b) [accredited in SA] for an intended stay of 90 days or less and when in transit:

 

  • African Union Laissez Passer
  • Andorra
  • Argentina
  • Australia 
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Botswana 
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Chile (only ordinary passport holders)
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Ecuador
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany (except in diplomatic staff due to assume duty at the Embassy and Consulates of Germany in SA)
  • Greece 
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • Liechtenstein
  • Luxemburg
  • Malta             
  • Monaco
  • Namibia (only ordinary passport holders)
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway  
  • Panama (only ordinary passport holders)       
  • Paraguay
  • Portugal       
  • San Marino     
  • Singapore
  • Spain
  • St Vincent & the Grenadines
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland 
  • Tanzania (90 days per year)
  • Trinidad & Tobago (only ordinary passport holders)
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  
  • British Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey, Isle of Man. British Oversees Territories namely: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island, Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha), Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos Island.
  • United States of America (except in diplomatic staff due to assume duty at the Embassy and Consulates of the USA in SA)
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela
  • Zambia (90 days per annum)
  • Zimbabwe

 

The citizen who is a holder of a national passport (diplomatic, official and ordinary) of the following countries / territories / international organisations is not required to hold a visa in respect of purposes for which a visitor’s permit may be issued by virtue of being a person contemplated in section 31(3)(b) [accredited in SA] for an intended stay of 30 days or less and when in transit:

 

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Bahamas (only ordinary passport holders)
  • Barbados
  • Belize                  
  • Benin
  • Bolivia
  • Cape Verde
  • Costa Rica
  • Cyprus               
  • Gabon
  • Guyana
  • Hong Kong [only with regard to holders of Hong Kong British National Overseas passports and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports] 
  • Hungary
  • Jordan
  • Lesotho
  • Macau [only with regard to holders of Macau Special Administrative Region passports (MSAR)]
  • Malaysia
  • Malawi
  • Maldives
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Seychelles
  • Slovak Republic
  • South Korea
  • Swaziland
  • Thailand           
  • Turkey