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Africa · ZA

South Africa — Citizenship Guide

Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted.

Why South Africa?

The South Africa passport offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival, ETA, or e-visa access to 129 destinations, ranking it #97 globally.

Dual with retention.

Citizenship by descent

South Africa applies jus sanguinis — citizenship can be acquired by descent from a citizen parent, and in some cases from grandparents or more distant ancestors.

Naturalisation

Naturalisation typically requires 5 years of residence, usually alongside language and integration requirements.

Dual citizenship

South Africa generally permits dual citizenship.

Fees & timeline

There is no standard published application fee — costs vary, so check with official sources.

Compiled from the Citizenship Hub law dataset (approximate). Verify with official government sources before relying on this information.

Where the South Africa passport can travel

Visa-free, visa on arrival, ETA, and e-visa access by destination. Hover for details.

Fiji — Visa-free Tanzania — Visa-free W. Sahara — Unknown Canada — Visa required United States of America — Visa required Kazakhstan — e-Visa Uzbekistan — Visa required Papua New Guinea — ETA Indonesia — Visa on arrival Argentina — Visa-free Chile — Visa-free Dem. Rep. Congo — e-Visa Somalia — e-Visa Kenya — Visa-free Sudan — Visa required Chad — e-Visa Haiti — Visa-free Dominican Rep. — Visa-free Russia — Visa-free Bahamas — Visa-free Falkland Is. — Unknown Greenland — Unknown Fr. S. Antarctic Lands — Unknown Timor-Leste — Visa on arrival South Africa — Home country Lesotho — Visa-free Mexico — Visa required Uruguay — Visa-free Brazil — Visa-free Bolivia — Visa-free Peru — Visa-free Colombia — e-Visa Panama — Visa-free Costa Rica — Visa-free Nicaragua — Visa-free Honduras — Visa-free El Salvador — Visa-free Guatemala — Visa-free Belize — Visa-free Venezuela — Visa-free Guyana — Visa-free Suriname — e-Visa Ecuador — Visa-free Puerto Rico — Unknown Jamaica — Visa-free Cuba — e-Visa Zimbabwe — Visa-free Botswana — Visa-free Namibia — Visa-free Senegal — Visa on arrival Mali — Visa required Mauritania — e-Visa Benin — Visa-free Niger — Visa required Nigeria — e-Visa Cameroon — e-Visa Togo — e-Visa Ghana — Visa-free Côte d'Ivoire — ETA Guinea — e-Visa Guinea-Bissau — Visa on arrival Liberia — Visa required Sierra Leone — Visa on arrival Burkina Faso — e-Visa Central African Rep. — Visa required Congo — Visa required Gabon — Visa-free Eq. Guinea — e-Visa Zambia — Visa-free Malawi — Visa-free Mozambique — Visa-free eSwatini — Visa-free Angola — Visa-free Burundi — Visa on arrival Israel — ETA Lebanon — Visa required Madagascar — Visa on arrival Palestine — Visa-free Gambia — Visa-free Tunisia — Visa-free Algeria — Visa required Jordan — Visa on arrival United Arab Emirates — e-Visa Qatar — Visa on arrival Kuwait — Visa required Iraq — e-Visa Oman — Visa on arrival Vanuatu — Visa-free Cambodia — Visa on arrival Thailand — Visa-free Laos — Visa on arrival Myanmar — e-Visa Vietnam — e-Visa North Korea — Visa required South Korea — ETA Mongolia — e-Visa India — e-Visa Bangladesh — Visa required Bhutan — e-Visa Nepal — Visa on arrival Pakistan — e-Visa Afghanistan — Visa required Tajikistan — Visa on arrival Kyrgyzstan — Visa on arrival Turkmenistan — Visa required Iran — Visa on arrival Syria — e-Visa Armenia — Visa on arrival Sweden — Visa required Belarus — Visa required Ukraine — e-Visa Poland — Visa required Austria — Visa required Hungary — Visa required Moldova — e-Visa Romania — Visa required Lithuania — Visa required Latvia — Visa required Estonia — Visa required Germany — Visa required Bulgaria — Visa required Greece — Visa required Turkey — e-Visa Albania — e-Visa Croatia — Visa required Switzerland — Visa required Luxembourg — Visa required Belgium — Visa required Netherlands — Visa required Portugal — Visa required Spain — Visa required Ireland — Visa required New Caledonia — Unknown Solomon Is. — Visa required New Zealand — Visa required Australia — e-Visa Sri Lanka — Visa on arrival China — Visa required Taiwan — Unknown Italy — Visa required Denmark — Visa required United Kingdom — Visa required Iceland — Visa required Azerbaijan — e-Visa Georgia — Visa-free Philippines — Visa-free Malaysia — Visa-free Brunei — Visa required Slovenia — Visa required Finland — Visa required Slovakia — Visa required Czechia — Visa required Eritrea — Visa required Japan — e-Visa Paraguay — Visa-free Yemen — Visa required Saudi Arabia — Visa on arrival Antarctica — Unknown Cyprus — Visa required Morocco — Visa required Egypt — Visa on arrival Libya — e-Visa Ethiopia — Visa on arrival Djibouti — Visa on arrival Uganda — e-Visa Rwanda — Visa-free Bosnia and Herz. — Visa required North Macedonia — Visa required Serbia — Visa required Montenegro — Visa required Trinidad and Tobago — Visa-free S. Sudan — e-Visa
  • Visa-free
  • Visa on arrival
  • ETA
  • e-Visa
  • Visa required
  • No admission

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