South Africa Passport Ranking 2026 — Rank, Power & Mobility

How strong is the South Africa passport

The South Africa passport ranks #97 of 199 in the 2026 passport index with a mobility score of 111.5. It is stronger than 102 passports — visa-free to 61 countries and easy access to 127.

stronger ↑

Timor-Leste

#96

56 visa-free · score 113.5

this passport

South Africa

#97

61 visa-free · score 111.5

weaker ↓

Kuwait

#98

58 visa-free · score 108.9

Planning a trip?

Flights

Compare airfares and find the cheapest.

Explore

Hotels

Stays for any budget.

Explore

Travel insurance

Coverage for your whole trip.

Explore

Visa assistance

Help with the application, online.

Explore

Partner links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Where the South Africa passport can travel

Every destination by visa status — visa-free, on arrival, e-Visa or required. Tap a country for details.

Visa-free · 61

Angola 30 days → Antigua and Barbuda 180 days → Argentina 90 days → Bahamas 90 days → Barbados 180 days → Belize 90 days → Benin 90 days → Botswana 90 days → Brazil 90 days → Chile 90 days → Costa Rica 180 days → Dominica 180 days → Dominican Republic 90 days → Ecuador 90 days → El Salvador 180 days → Fiji 120 days → Gabon 30 days → Gambia 90 days → Georgia 360 days → Ghana 90 days → Grenada 90 days → Guatemala 90 days → Guyana 30 days → Haiti 90 days → Honduras 90 days → Hong Kong 30 days → Israel 90 days → Jamaica 90 days → Kiribati 90 days → Lesotho 90 days → Macao 30 days → Malawi 90 days → Malaysia 90 days → Mauritius 90 days → Micronesia 30 days → Mozambique 90 days → Namibia 90 days → Nicaragua 90 days → Palestine 90 days → Panama 90 days → Paraguay 90 days → Peru 180 days → Philippines 30 days → Russia 90 days → Rwanda 30 days → Saint Kitts and Nevis 90 days → Saint Lucia 42 days → Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 90 days → Seychelles 90 days → Singapore 30 days → Swaziland 30 days → Tanzania 90 days → Thailand 60 days → Togo 30 days → Trinidad and Tobago 90 days → Tunisia 90 days → Uruguay 90 days → Vanuatu 120 days → Venezuela 90 days → Zambia 90 days → Zimbabwe 90 days →

Visa on arrival · 33

Armenia 30 days → Bolivia 30 days → Burundi 30 days → Cambodia 30 days → Cape Verde 30 days → Comoros 30 days → Djibouti 30 days → Egypt 30 days → Ethiopia 30 days → Guinea-Bissau 30 days → Indonesia 30 days → Iran 30 days → Jordan 30 days → Kyrgyzstan 30 days → Laos 30 days → Madagascar 30 days → Maldives 30 days → Marshall Islands 30 days → Mauritania 30 days → Nepal 30 days → Nigeria 30 days → Oman 30 days → Palau 30 days → Qatar 30 days → Samoa 30 days → Saudi Arabia 30 days → Senegal 30 days → Sierra Leone 30 days → Somalia 30 days → Sri Lanka 30 days → Tajikistan 30 days → Timor-Leste 30 days → Tuvalu 30 days →

e-Visa / ETA · 33

Albania 90 days → Australia 90 days → Azerbaijan 90 days → Bahrain 90 days → Bhutan 90 days → Burkina Faso 90 days → Cameroon 90 days → Colombia 90 days → Cuba 90 days → DR Congo 90 days → Equatorial Guinea 90 days → Guinea 90 days → India 90 days → Iraq 90 days → Ivory Coast 90 days → Japan 90 days → Kazakhstan 90 days → Kenya 90 days → Libya 90 days → Moldova 90 days → Mongolia 90 days → Myanmar 90 days → Pakistan 90 days → Papua New Guinea 90 days → Sao Tome and Principe 90 days → South Korea 90 days → South Sudan 90 days → Suriname 90 days → Syria 90 days → Turkey 90 days → Uganda 90 days → United Arab Emirates 90 days → Vietnam 90 days →

Visa required · 71

Afghanistan — → Algeria — → Andorra — → Austria — → Bangladesh — → Belarus — → Belgium — → Bosnia and Herzegovina — → Brunei — → Bulgaria — → Canada — → Central African Republic — → Chad — → China — → Congo — → Croatia — → Cyprus — → Czech Republic — → Denmark — → Eritrea — → Estonia — → Finland — → France — → Germany — → Greece — → Hungary — → Iceland — → Ireland — → Italy — → Kosovo — → Kuwait — → Latvia — → Lebanon — → Liberia — → Liechtenstein — → Lithuania — → Luxembourg — → Mali — → Malta — → Mexico — → Monaco — → Montenegro — → Morocco — → Nauru — → Netherlands — → New Zealand — → Niger — → North Korea — → North Macedonia — → Norway — → Poland — → Portugal — → Romania — → San Marino — → Serbia — → Slovakia — → Slovenia — → Solomon Islands — → Spain — → Sudan — → Sweden — → Switzerland — → Taiwan — → Tonga — → Turkmenistan — → Ukraine — → United Kingdom — → United States — → Uzbekistan — → Vatican — → Yemen — →

Planning a trip?

Flights

Compare airfares and find the cheapest.

Explore

Hotels

Stays for any budget.

Explore

Travel insurance

Coverage for your whole trip.

Explore

Visa assistance

Help with the application, online.

Explore

Partner links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Where South Africa citizens face the toughest visas

Schengen, the US and the UK count refusals separately. Here are all three rates for the South Africa passport in one place.

The hardest is the US — 11.7% of applications refused, against 3.8% at the most lenient one.

Schengen

5.2%

of applications refused

strictness rank: #101 of 118

-0.4 pp year-over-year

by filing country

United States

11.7%

of applications refused

strictness rank: #159 of 197

+1.0 pp year-over-year

B1/B2 visas

United Kingdom

3.8%

of applications refused

strictness rank: #119 of 119

+0.2 pp year-over-year

visitor visas

under 2 weeks until the next US interview · Johannesburg

1 rule changes recorded for this passport in our archive, 1 of them easing · the feed →

22 countries accept visa applications right inside South Africa

Schengen in detail: which state refuses South Africa citizens most

# Schengen state Applications Filed in Rate

1 Croatia 6,124 Pretoria 21.7% 2 Bulgaria 713 Pretoria 15.3% 3 Switzerland 8,223 Pretoria 11.0% 4 France 32,905 Cape Town, Johannesburg 8.3% 5 Poland 1,313 Pretoria 7.9% 6 Portugal 10,787 Cape Town, Johannesburg 7.2% 7 Belgium 4,782 Cape Town, Pretoria 6.0% 8 Norway 3,829 Pretoria 5.7% 9 Finland 1,845 Pretoria 5.3% 10 Romania 742 Pretoria 5.3% 11 Hungary 1,918 Pretoria 4.7% 12 Lithuania 235 Pretoria 3.8% 13 Austria 5,699 Pretoria 3.5% 14 Germany 24,717 Cape Town, Pretoria 3.5% 15 Italy 33,532 Cape Town, Johannesburg 3.0% 16 Netherlands 21,622 Cape Town, Pretoria 2.9% 17 Czech Republic 2,673 Pretoria 2.7% 18 Spain 21,450 Cape Town, Pretoria 2.3% 19 Greece 12,730 Cape Town, Johannesburg 1.8% 20 Slovakia 102 Pretoria 1.0% 21 Sweden 5 Pretoria 0.0%

Methodologies differ: the EC counts by place of filing, the State Department and Home Office by nationality. Read as orders of magnitude.

Popular destinations for the South Africa passport

Whether South Africa citizens need a visa for popular countries — tap for details.

→ South Africa → United StatesVisa required → → South Africa → United KingdomVisa required → → South Africa → Japane-Visa / ETA → → South Africa → United Arab Emiratese-Visa / ETA → → South Africa → ThailandVisa-free → → South Africa → Turkeye-Visa / ETA →

Frequently asked

How strong is the South Africa passport?

The South Africa passport ranks #97 of 199 in the 2026 passport index (mobility score 111.5). It gives visa-free access to 61 countries and easy access to 127 — stronger than 102 passports.

How many countries can South Africa visit visa-free?

61 countries are visa-free, plus more on arrival or with an eTA. See the full list on the "visa-free countries for South Africa" page.

Why does the South Africa passport rank where it does?

The rank is set by the number of visa-free and visa-on-arrival destinations. The South Africa passport sits in the middle tier of the 2026 ranking. Positions shift as visa agreements change.

How is the passport ranking calculated?

We sum visa-free, visa-on-arrival and eTA destinations into a mobility score that sets the rank. Same idea as Henley and Arton Capital, on our own 2026 data.

See the full passport ranking

Compare the South Africa passport with the rest and see the world's strongest passports.

Open the ranking →