Visa, ETA or Traveller Declaration: what you need to enter South Africa
Visa, ETA or Traveller Declaration?
There is still confusion about what travellers to South Africa have to fill in before they fly, and it is easy to see why: two government departments launched two online systems within six weeks of each other this year. We explain who needs which, and why one never replaces the other.
Since 1 July 2026 the South African Revenue Service has required everyone entering or leaving the country, South Africans included, to complete an online Traveller Declaration before they travel. It is a customs form: it asks what you are carrying, not whether you may enter.
That second question belongs to the Department of Home Affairs. On 12 August President Cyril Ramaphosa launched its Electronic Travel Authorisation, or ETA, an online alternative to the visitor visa that Home Affairs had first introduced on a limited basis in October 2025. By 1 October, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said, it was taking short-stay applications from 53 countries, with more being added every week.
In practice most visitors from Britain, Europe and North America need only the SARS declaration, because their passports are visa-exempt. Travellers whose passports require a visa need both. The questions below work out which group you are in.
01 · Your checklist
Find out which forms you need
Answer up to four questions about your trip and your passport. You can go back and change an answer at any point.
Q1 of 4
Are you only changing planes or ships, without leaving the international transit area?
For example London → Johannesburg → Windhoek, staying airside in Johannesburg.
Q2 of 4
Are you a South African citizen or permanent resident?
Answer for the passport or identity document you will travel on.
Q3 of 4
Is your passport visa-exempt for South Africa?
This covers the UK, Ireland, EU member states, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and several, but not all, SADC countries. How long you may stay without a visa depends on your nationality.
Not sure? Check the Home Affairs list of visa-exempt countries.
Q4 of 4
Are you flying into O.R. Tambo, Cape Town International, King Shaka or Lanseria?
For now the ETA works only at these four airports. Home Affairs will extend it to all ports of entry but has not given a date.
You don't need to file anything with SARS
- Not neededTraveller DeclarationAir and sea passengers who stay in the designated transit area of an airport or seaport are exempt.
- CheckTransit visaAirside transit at O.R. Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria generally needs no transit visa, but ordinary Pakistani and Bangladeshi passport holders do need one.
You need the Traveller Declaration only
- RequiredSARS Traveller DeclarationIn the 24 hours before your final flight directly to South Africa departs, and again before you leave. One per person, children and infants included.
- Not neededVisa or ETANot for citizens or permanent residents.
You need the Traveller Declaration only
- RequiredSARS Traveller DeclarationIn the 24 hours before your final flight directly to South Africa departs, and again before you leave. One per person, children and infants included.
- Not neededVisaYour passport is visa-exempt.
- OptionalETAYou don't need one. You may apply voluntarily for faster border processing, but you then pay the R500 electronic processing fee that has applied since 17 August 2026.
You need an ETA and the Traveller Declaration
- RequiredETA from Home AffairsApply before you fly. For eligible travellers it takes the place of a traditional visitor visa. The R500 processing fee comes on top of the R425 visa fee unless you are exempt from that fee, making R925 in all. Open to short-stay applications from 53 countries as of October 2026, with more added weekly. Check eta.dha.gov.za for yours. If your country is not on it yet, apply for a visitor visa instead.
- RequiredSARS Traveller DeclarationIn the 24 hours before your final flight directly to South Africa departs, and again before you leave.
You need a visa and the Traveller Declaration
- RequiredVisitor visaVisas are not issued at South African ports of entry, so apply before you travel, through the South African embassy, high commission or consulate, or the VFS visa application centre where there is one. The ETA does not work at land or sea ports yet, and no date has been given.
- RequiredSARS Traveller DeclarationBefore you cross, and again when you leave.
02 · Two departments
Two departments, two separate forms
Both systems ask for your passport details online before you travel, which is why they are so often mixed up. The Traveller Declaration is a customs form about what is in your luggage; the ETA is permission from immigration to enter the country.
Traveller Declaration
"What are you carrying?"
- Who
- Everyone entering or leaving, South Africans and babies included
- Since
- 1 July 2026
- Cost
- Free
- When
- ≤ 24 h before the final leg departs
- Per
- Person
Gate
Electronic Travel Authorisation
"Are you allowed in?"
- Who
- Visitors whose passport needs a visa: 53 countries as of October 2026. Optional for visa-exempt passports
- Since
- 12 August 2026
- Cost
- R500, plus the visa fee where due
- When
- Before you fly
- Ports
- 4 airports
Gate
An approved ETA does not count as your customs declaration, and a submitted declaration does not give you the right to enter. Visitors who need a visa have to complete both.
03 · Common mistakes
Five common misunderstandings
Some of the rules are easy to misread, particularly for families and for South Africans returning home.
01
"I have an ETA, so I've done my declaration."
IN FACTThe ETA comes from Home Affairs and the declaration from SARS. Visitors who need a visa must complete both.
02
"I'm South African. It's for tourists."
IN FACTSouth African citizens must declare as well, both when they come home and when they leave.
03
"I did one for the whole family."
IN FACTEvery traveller needs their own declaration, babies included. A parent or guardian completes it on a child's behalf.
04
"I'll do it the night before my long-haul flight."
IN FACTThe 24 hours count back from the departure of your last flight directly to South Africa, so on a long itinerary with a connection you may need to file it during the layover.
05
"Brits and Americans need an ETA now."
IN FACTPassports that were visa-exempt before the ETA still are. Their holders may apply for one to speed up border processing, but they do not have to.
04 · Questions
Frequently asked questions
What if I forgot to file the declaration?
Does the declaration cost anything?
Do I need it to drive in from Namibia or Lesotho?
Does the ETA work at land borders?
How is this different from your earlier article?
Sources
- SARS: Online Traveller Declaration FAQsWho must file, the 24-hour window, the transit exemption, air, land, sea and rail
- SARS: rules for the electronic Traveller Management System, 26 June 2026The 24-hour window, the transit exemption, the paper forms TD-01 and TGD1
- SARS: temporary import permits for foreign-registered vehicles, 1 June 2026The declaration and the permit are free
- Department of Home Affairs: ETA portalEligibility and the four airports
- Government Gazette: Home Affairs fees, 17 August 2026The R500 ETA processing fee and the R425 visa fee
- Department of Home Affairs: passport holders exempt from visasVisa-exempt countries, permitted stays, transit visa rules
- gov.za: visasVisas are not issued at ports of entry
- gov.za: Minister Schreiber, Constitution Hill speech, 1 October 2026ETA live for short-stay visa applications from 53 countries, more added weekly; rollout to all ports of entry
- The Presidency: President Ramaphosa's address at the ETA launch, 12 August 2026The launch at O.R. Tambo
- Department of Home Affairs: notice on ETA fees, 27 July 2026The ETA introduced in October 2025; optional for visa-exempt travellers
Source: SARS and Department of Home Affairs · Last refreshed 17 October 2026
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed and verified by humans.
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