South Africa guide › Plan your trip to South Africa
Do I need a visa for South Africa?
If you hold a UK, US, Canadian or Australian passport, you don't need a visa for a holiday of up to 90 days. What catches people out is the new step introduced on 1 July 2026: every traveller must complete an online customs declaration before arriving, and again before leaving.
Here's the checklist:
- A passport valid for at least 30 days after you leave South Africa, with two blank pages. Airlines take this seriously, and travellers without the pages have been refused boarding or sent back on arrival.
- The Traveller Declaration from SARS, South Africa's tax and customs authority, listing goods and cash you carry. It's required on entry and on exit, by air, road, rail or sea, children included.
- An onward or return ticket, which airlines may ask to see at check-in.
What about the ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) launched in August 2026? It's aimed at travellers who need a visa. If your nationality is visa-exempt, you don't need it for a holiday. Other nationalities should check the Department of Home Affairs list.
Children travelling with an adult only need their own passport; the old birth-certificate rules have been relaxed.
Yellow fever: a vaccination certificate is only required if you arrive from a country where the disease is present, or after a transit of more than 12 hours in one. A connection through Nairobi or Addis Ababa is worth checking (see the health page).
Tip: fill in the declaration on the official SARS website. Third-party sites charge a fee for doing exactly what you can do yourself in a few minutes.
Information checked in November 2026; confirm before you travel.