VISA REQUIREMENTS (what to submit)

1. Passport valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit.

2. Passports must contain at least 1 (one) unused page for entry/departure endorsements (sometimes referred to as visa page).

3. Payment of the prescribed fee, if applicable.

4. A vaccination certificate, if required by the Act.

5. Statement and/or documentation confirming purpose and duration of visit.

6. Two (2) identity photographs (see specifications below)

7. Proof of financial means in the form of:

• bank statements;
• salary advices;
• undertaking(s) by the host(s) in the Republic;
• bursaries;
• medical cover; or cash available, including credit cards or travelers' checks to cover the living expenses during the sojourn in the Republic

8. Applicants traveling by air must be in possession of:

• a return or onward ticket; or
• proof of sufficient funds; or
• lodge a cash deposit of equivalent value to such a ticket.

Photographs

Photographs must comply with the following specifications:

 i. Length - 45mm

 ii. Width - 35mm

 iii. The background of the photograph shall be plain and free of shadows and shall not have a white lining

 iv. Only the head and shoulders of the person concerned shall be included in the photograph and the head from the chin to the top of the hair shall not be smaller 22mm and not larger than 25mm

 v. The person concerned shall be photographed without any head-gear or veil, and any other additions to the face which tend to alter the natural likeness shall be removed. (The Director-General may exempt any person or any category of persons from any of these requirements.)

 vi. Spectacles may be worn provided that the lenses do not make the eyes invisible. Spectacles with dark lenses may be worn if the eyes will appear distorted without them or if the person is blind

 vii. The full-face of the person concerned shall be photographed directly from the front, and the head may not be bent or tuned sideways

 viii  The face shall be a recognizable likeness of the person and the head, hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose and moustache or beard, if any, shall be sharply and clearly defined

 ix. Neither the photograph nor the copies thereof may be defaced by holes, pencil or ink marks or in any other manner

The Director-General may reject the copies of the photographs if they do not, in his or her judgment, comply with the requirements mentioned above, or if he or she deem them unsuitable in other respects, in which case the person concerned shall provide two new copies at his or her own cost.

Identity document and passport photographs could be taken at regional or district offices equipped for this service, at a cost of R13-00 for a frame of four black and white photographs.

The normal processing period for a visa is 10 days.

SOURCE: South African Department of Home Affairs

Download: South African Consulates in Africa (DOC, 75 KB)

Travelers Health Information

www.cdc.gov/travel/safrica.htm