20 new nationalities eligible for South Africa e-Visa

The South African e-Visa program is now open to 20 additional nationalities, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

By enabling foreign travelers to apply for a South Africa visa online, the e-Visa system simplifies the application process. Processing times are shortened, and applicants no longer need to visit a South African consulate.

The electronic visa for South Africa was launched in February 2022. Since its introduction, the government has processed more than 12,377 visa applications. After addressing initial technical issues, including network slowdowns, officials decided to expand the number of eligible nationalities.

The 20 new nationalities now eligible for the South African e-Visa are:

• Albania

• Algeria

• Belarus

• Bulgaria

• Comoros

• Republic of the Congo

• Côte d’Ivoire

• Croatia

• Cuba

• Ghana

• Guinea

• Indonesia

• Lithuania

• Liberia

• Mali

• Morocco

• Niger

• Romania

• Senegal

• Slovakia

The e-Visa was initially launched for 14 countries, including Saudi Arabia, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Uganda, the Philippines, and Pakistan.

Tourism rebounds in South Africa

The South African government announced on Tuesday that 5.8 million international visitors traveled to South Africa in 2022.

The country’s Minister of Tourism, Patricia De Lille, revealed the figure during the Africa’s Travel INDABA (ATI) trade show in Durban. Of the total, 4.8%—or about 278,400 visitors—came from African nations, demonstrating that Africa’s tourism sector is thriving in the post-COVID-19 era.

From January to December 2022, the number of tourists visiting South Africa rose encouragingly to 5.8 million—more than 4 million of whom came from other African countries. Compared to January–December 2021, this represents an overall growth of 152.6% for South Africa. International arrivals this year could return to pre-pandemic levels, particularly from Europe and the Middle East.

South Africa has granted visa exemptions to a selection of African countries, including SADC members such as Tanzania, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Mauritius, Malawi, and Botswana, allowing short-term stays of up to 90 days.

De Lille emphasized the need to work with multiple partners to lower the high cost of air transport across Africa, which discourages travelers and slows the expansion of the tourism industry.

Plans for South African start-up and remote-work visas

A new start-up visa and remote-work visa may soon be introduced by the South African government, according to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

These visa categories are designed to attract skilled foreign workers and were highlighted in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address.

"The Vulindlela task team, led by former Director-General of Home Affairs Mavuso Msimang, recently submitted a comprehensive report on the review of the visa regime to the President," the document states.

The agency said draft visa specifications are due to be finalized within three months, with a target completion date set for the end of June 2023.