61 countries South Africans don't need a visa to visit

27 October 2017 - 14:07
By Staff reporter
Republic of South Africa's passport.
Image: KEVIN SUTHERLAND Republic of South Africa's passport.

Heading off to an exotic locale where you won't need a visa is a good way to save some cash — and spare yourself a whole lot of admin.

Fortunately, there are plenty of places that South Africans don't need a visa to visit. A whopping 61 in fact, according to Arton Capital's 2017 Passport Index.

This Index ranks the power of different passports around the world based on a Visa-Free Score.

This Visa-Free Score takes into account the number of countries that the holder of a particular passport can visit without having to obtain a visa, or where they can obtain a visa on arrival.

To compile the Index, Arton Capital compared the passports of 193 UN member countries and six territories (Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican). 

Singapore, which was crowned the country with the world's most powerful passport, was ranked number 1, with a Visa-Free Score of 159.

South Africa was ranked number 47, with a Visa-Free Score of 93 (61 countries where no visa is required plus 32 countries where a visa can be obtained on arrival).

On the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan was declared as having the world's least powerful passport, ranking last, at number 93, with a Visa-Free Score of 22.

61 COUNTRIES SOUTH AFRICAN'S DON'T NEED A VISA FOR:

  1. Antigua and Barbuda
  2. Argentina
  3. Bahamas
  4. Barbados
  5. Belize
  6. Benin
  7. Botswana
  8. Brazil
  9. Chile
  10. Colombia
  11. Costa Rica
  12. Dominica
  13. Dominican Republic
  14. Ecuador
  15. El Salvador
  16. Fiji
  17. Gabon
  18. Georgia
  19. Grenada
  20. Guatemala
  21. Guyana
  22. Haiti
  23. Honduras
  24. Hong Kong
  25. Indonesia
  26. Ireland
  27. Israel
  28. Jamaica
  29. Kenya
  30. Kosovo
  31. Lesotho
  32. Macao
  33. Malawi
  34. Malaysia
  35. Mauritius
  36. Micronesia
  37. Mozambique
  38. Namibia
  39. Nicaragua
  40. Palestinian Territories
  41. Panama
  42. Paraguay
  43. Peru
  44. Philippines
  45. Russian Federation
  46. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  47. Saint Lucia
  48. Senegal
  49. Singapore
  50. South Korea
  51. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  52. Swaziland
  53. Tanzania
  54. Thailand
  55. Trinidad and Tobago
  56. Tunisia
  57. Uruguay
  58. Vanuatu
  59. Venezuela
  60. Zambia
  61. Zimbabwe

32 COUNTRIES WHERE SA PASSPORT HOLDERS CAN GET A VISA ON ARRIVAL:

  1.  Armenia
  2. Bolivia
  3. Cambodia (eVisa)
  4. Cape Verde 
  5. Comoros 
  6. Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) (eVisa)
  7. Djibouti 
  8. Ethiopia
  9. Ghana 
  10. Guinea-Bissau 
  11. India (eVisa)
  12. Iran 
  13. Jordan
  14. Kyrgyzstan 
  15. Laos 
  16. Madagascar 
  17. Maldives
  18. Marshall Islands 
  19. Mauritania 
  20. Nepal 
  21. Oman
  22. Palau
  23. Qatar (visa waiver on arrival)
  24. Rwanda
  25. Samoa 
  26. Seychelles (visitor's passport)
  27. Sri Lanka (eTA)
  28. Timor-Leste 
  29. Togo 
  30. Turkey (eVisa)
  31. Tuvalu 
  32. Uganda