Immigration: Visas
Everyone wanting to enter South Africa MUST have a visa.
In order to check which visa you require, please proceed as follows:
1. Check on the link below to view the table – scroll down to Visa Exemption List. Check your passport nationality in the left hand column and scroll across to the column headed “Ordinary” (most cruisers will have an ordinary passport). This column will show if you are exempt from obtaining a visa prior to arrival and will show the duration of the visa which will be issued on arrival. If the column is blank then you are NOT exempt and must obtain a visa prior to arrival, or an E-visa if applicable.
Visa on Entry: Passport holders from many countries are considered to be "exempt" as they do not have to apply for a visa from their home country, but will be given a 90 or 30 day tourist visa from Immigration on arrival in the first Port of Entry in South Africa
See this link for list of these countries: https://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/immigration-services/exempt-countries
E-Visa Scheme: The introduction of the E-Visa scheme currently only applies to passport holders from the following countries:
Albania, Algeria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Kenya, Liberia, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Guinea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Uganda.
https://ehome.dha.gov.za/epermit/home
If you are not exempt and are not on one of the countries listed above, IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO APPLY FOR A VISA IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY BEFORE ARRIVAL.
If you do arrive without a visa you will not be “cleared in” and will not be permitted to leave your boat whilst in South Africa. You may be refused entry and be deported.
NB: A Seaman’s Book is only eligible for bona-fide crew on a merchant vessel as a supporting document to prove crew status. It is not a visa, and cannot be used instead of a visa to enter the country.
Visa Extensions: Extending your South African visa
Many cruisers wish to extend their 90-day stay in South Africa. Unfortunately, the visa extension process is often both long-winded and unsatisfactory in terms of the time taken for approval.
The visa extension process is handled by the agency VFS and the process is as follows:
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Visit the VFS website www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica
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Identify the visa type, start the application, pay the fees and then book an appointment at an application centre to personally submit the application. The process is as follows:
Visitors Visa Section 11(1) is the port of entry
Application Type: Temporary Residence Visa
Sub-type: TRV - Renewal
Category: Visitor Visa Section 11(1)
Ignore Corporate visa
Note that the VFS coastal application centres are in Durban, Port Elizabeth, George and Cape Town and that once the extension has been approved you have to visit the same application centre to receive your visa, or give authorisation to someone else to collect this on your behalf.
An alternative to applying for a visa extension sometimes is to leave the country a couple of days before your visa expires and to return well AFTER ITS EXPIRY. A further visa should then be given on re-entry. This is normally the case but is not guaranteed. There do not seem to be any hard-and-fast rules on this and it is often up to the individual immigration officer at the port of entry who makes sometimes random decisions. Please note, if you have more than a week left on your visa, you may only get that number of days on your return.
If you make a road trip to Botswana or Namibia there shouldn’t be a problem on re-entry. If you return by air to your home country there is not normally a problem.
OSASA/05 May 2026