ETA South Africa unveiled, here's our news

This morning, the South African government presented its new ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) long-awaiteddesigned to digitize entry formalities for short-stay tourists.

The project was unveiled by the Ministry of the Interior, Leon SchreiberIt will be launched on September 25, 2025, with a gradual roll-out to G20 travelers requiring visas, before being extended in the following weeks to other nationalities and reasons for stay.

South Africa is hosting the G20 summit from November 22 to 23. A major first for the continent.

Principles and operation of the ETA system

The ETA system will gradually replace paper visas, allowing travellers to :

• apply online via a dedicated platform (official URL still undisclosed at time of launch),
• submit their biometric data (live photo/selfie),
• to send a photo of their passport,
• fill in a simplified form about your stay,
• to benefit from virtually instantaneous instruction thanks to automated AI validation.

According to the authorities, the request can be made before departure, with a response and a digital document received within minutes."nearly 40 different controls". Key information appears on the document, including a QR code in your mobile wallet facilitating identification on arrival and validity, as the Minister was able to show on X :

This is not a mockup. This is a real ETA visa, stored in my real smartphone wallet. It was issued online by our new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, based on latest AI tech that eliminates fraud and queues. Going live 09/25.

Home Affairs is building the future 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/TCC2HVKTE6

- Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) June 12, 2025

SudAf ETA deployment phases

• September 25, 2025 Start of User Acceptance Testing.
• Mid-October 2025 Launch of the first phase reserved for delegations from the 4 G20 member countries requiring a visa (China, India, Indonesia, Mexico) arriving at OR Tambo (Johannesburg) and Cape Town airports.
• End November 2025 After the G20 leaders' meeting, the second phase begins, opening up the ETA application to all tourists from the same four countries.
• Subsequent phases (following years) ETA: Gradual extension of the ETA system to all countries requiring a visa for South Africa and to other visa categories, with the introduction of automated facial recognition checks at all entry points.

Residence conditions and entry points

The ETA will be valid for multiple entries over a maximum period of 90 daysrenewable once for 90 days.

No extended stays or conversions to work or study permits are permitted. Initially, only passengers arriving at Johannesburg airports (OR Tambo) and Cap will be able to use this device. The full list of nationalities concerned will be announced at the official launch.

A priori, only those with a classic visa are concerned (see table at the bottom of the article). Despite what some websites claim, nationalities currently exempt from visa requirements (such as Western countries) will not be affected by ETA in the short or medium term.

Incidentally, the Minister tends to call the system an "ETA Visa", which is a misnomer... The two documents do not necessarily have the same function.

https://twitter.com/Leon_Schreib/status/1968591492336746953

Digital integration and enhanced control

In addition to the downloadable PDF, the ETA can be integrated into mobile applications such as Google Wallet or Apple Wallet.

Another compulsory stepFill out a customs declaration online with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) before departure.

As part of the drive to modernize, facial recognition and arrival flow management will gradually be extended to all the country's entry points. The system is designed to limit fraud and enhance control efficiency through automated monitoring of length-of-stay compliance..

To date, the government has not announced the cost of the ETA nor published the official URL of the application portal. Traditional South African visa rates are often around 36 USD (31 €) for short stays, but we'll have to wait for the official publication to find out the exact amount earmarked for ETA.

New nationalities have signed up visa waiver agreement with South Africa recently, including Romania, Croatia, Latvia and Estonia in September this year!

List of visa-exempt nationalities and length of stay as of September 3, 2025
Country	Passport type					Visa Fees
	Diplomatic	Official	Service	Ordinary	Special
African Union Laissez Passer	90 Days					No
African Development Bank Laissez-Passers	90 Days					No
Albania (Republic of)	120 Days	120 Days	120 Days			Yes
Algeria	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			No
Andorra (Principality of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Angola (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days M/S		Yes
Anguilla	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Antigua and Barbuda	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Argentina	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Australia	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Austria (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Bahamas				30 Days		Yes
Barbados	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Belarus (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Belgium	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Belize*	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		Yes
Benin (Republic of)*	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		Yes
Bermuda shorts	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Bolivia, Plurinational State of	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Botswana	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Brazil	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
British Antarctic Territory				90 Days		Yes
British Indian Ocean Territory	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
British Virgin Island	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Bulgaria (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Canada	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Cape Verde	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Cayman Islands	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Chile	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
China (People's Republic of)	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			Yes
Comoros (Union of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Congo (Democratic Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Costa Rica	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Croatia (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Cuba (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Cyprus	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	30 Days		No
Czech Republic	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Denmark (Kingdom of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Ducie and Oeno Islands	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Ecuador	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Egypt	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			No
Estonia ( Republic of)				90 Days		Yes
Ethiopia (The Federal Democratic Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Falkland Islands	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Finland (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
France (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Gabon (Republic of)*	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		Yes
Germany (Federal Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Ghana (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days M/S		Yes
Gibraltar	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Greece (Hellenic Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Guernsey	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Guinea (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Guyana	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Henderson	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Hong Kong (SpecialAdministrative Region of China)*	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		Yes
Hungary	120 Days	120 Days	120 Days	90 Days		No
Iceland (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
India	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			No
Indonesia (Republic of)	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			Yes
Ireland	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Isle of Man	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Israel	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Italy (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Ivory Coast (Republic of Còte D'Ivoire)	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			Yes
Jamaica	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Japan	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Jersey	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Jordan	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Kenya (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days M/S		Yes
Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Latvia (Republic of )				90 Days		Yes
Lesotho (Kingdom Of)	30 Days	30 Days		90 Days		No
Liberia	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Liechtenstein	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Lithuania (Republic of)	30 Days M/S	30 Days M/S				Yes
Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Macau				30 Days		No
Madagascar (Republic of)	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days	90 Days M/S		Yes
Malawi	30 Days			30 Days	30 Days	No
Malaysia	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Maldives	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Mali (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Malta	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Mauritius	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Mexico	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			No
Monaco (Principality of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Montserrat	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Morocco (Kingdom of)	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			Yes
Mozambique (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	30 Days		Yes
Namibia	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days	90 Days M/S		No
Netherlands (The Kingdom of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
New Zealand				90 Days		No
Niger	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Nigeria (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Norway	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Palestine (State of)				90 Days		No
Panama (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Paraguay	120 Days	120 Days	120 Days	90 Days		No
Peru	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		No
Pitcairn Islands	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Poland (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	30 Days		Yes
Portugal (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Qatar (State of)				90 Days		Yes
Republic of Korea (South Korea)*	30 Days	30 Days		30 Days		Yes
Romania	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Russian Federation	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Rwanda (Republic of)	30 Days	30 Days	30 Days			Yes
SADC laissez-passers		90 Days				No
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha,Gough Island	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
San Marino (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
São Tomé and Príncipe (Democratic Republic of)				90 Days		Yes
Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of)				90 Days		Yes
Senegal	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			No
Seychelles	30 Days	30 Days		90 Days M/S		No
Sierre Leone (Republic of)	90 Days M/S	90 Days M/S	90 Days M/S			Yes
Singapore (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Slovak Republic	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			No
Slovenia (Republic of)				90 Days		Yes
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Spain (Kingdom of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days		Yes
Sweden	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Switzerland	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Tanzania (United Republic of)	90 Days M/S	90 Days M/S		90 Days M/S		Yes
Togo (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			No
Thailand (Kingdom of)*	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	30 Days		Yes
Trinidad and Tobago (Republic of)				90 Days		Yes
Tunisia (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	Yes
Turkey (Republic of)*	30 Days		30 Days	30 Days	30 Days	Yes
Turks and Caicos Islands	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Uganda (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
United Arab Emirates				90 Days		Yes
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland				90 Days		No
United Nations Lasse Passer	90 Days					No
United States of America	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days	Yes
Uruguay	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		Yes
Vietnam (Republic of)	90 Days	90 Days	90 Days			Yes
Virgin Islands (British)	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No
Zambia	90 Days M/S	90 Days M/S		90 Days M/S		No
Zimbabwe	90 Days	90 Days		90 Days		No

• South Africa

« Tunisia eases entry requirements for Egyptians with new visa-on-arrival system In 2026, requesting a flight refund will be more complicated »