Refreshed 11 Oct 2026
What changed in visa rules
Every refresh compares the new data with the previous snapshot. The latest one found 4,084 category changes worldwide and 1,600 changes to allowed stay.
Switched the main source to Wikipedia's visa articles (edited as recently as this week) from the Passport Index data of Feb 2026. Most changes below reflect that switch and eight months of rule changes, not changes made this week.
Easier for South African passport holders 7
AfghanistanVisa required→eVisa
BahraineVisa→Visa on arrival14 days
KazakhstaneVisa→Visa-free
OmanVisa on arrival30 days→Visa-free14 days
QatarVisa on arrival30 days→Visa-free30 days
SerbiaVisa required→eVisa
KosovoVisa required→Visa-free
Harder for South African passport holders 8
United Arab EmirateseVisa→Visa required
AustraliaeVisa→Visa required
Côte d'IvoireeTA90 days→eVisa
DjiboutiVisa on arrival90 days→eVisa
IranVisa on arrival30 days→eVisa
MoldovaeVisa→Visa required
Papua New GuineaeTA30 days→eVisa
SeychellesVisa-free90 days→eTA90 days
Changes for visitors to South Africa 28
- AfghanistanVisa required→eTA
ArmeniaVisa required→eTA
AzerbaijanVisa required→eTA- BahrainVisa required→eTA
BurundiVisa required→eTA
CongoeVisa→eTA
ChinaeVisa→eTA90 days
FijiVisa required→eTA
MicronesiaVisa required→eTA
HaitiVisa required→eTA
IndonesiaeVisa→eTA90 days
IndiaeVisa→eTA90 days
ComoroseVisa→eTA
KuwaitVisa required→eTA
LebanonVisa required→eTA- MoldovaVisa required→eTA90 days
MongoliaVisa required→eTA
MexicoeVisa→eTA90 days
NicaraguaVisa required→eTA
PalestineVisa required→eTA90 days
SudanVisa required→eTA
SyriaVisa required→eTA
ChadVisa required→eTA
TajikistanVisa required→eTA
TurkmenistanVisa required→eTA
UkraineVisa required→eTA90 days
UzbekistanVisa required→eTA
YemenVisa required→eTA
Refresh history
- 11 Oct 2026Switched the main source to Wikipedia's visa articles (edited as recently as this week) from the Passport Index data of Feb 20264,084 category changes
- 17 Feb 2026Passport Index data update (January 2025 to February 2026)2,761 category changes