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South Africa visa for Nigerian citizens
Nigeria 
South Africa Nigeria passport holders need a visa for South Africa, and it can be applied for online as an e-Visa.
Yes, an e-Visa is required
- Entry requirement
- e-Visa
- Maximum stay
- Set by the visa
- Apply before travel
- Yes
- Last updated
- February 2026
Before you travel
Checked November 2026At the border
- Passport must be valid for at least 30 days after your planned departure from South Africa.
- Passport needs at least two unused pages for entry and exit stamps; travellers without them can be refused entry.
- A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required if you have been in or transited a yellow fever endemic area (direct airport transit excepted).
- Visa-exempt visitors do not need an ETA but may apply voluntarily to use faster arrival processing or to extend a 90-day stay by up to another 90 days.
- ETA travellers have their faces verified on departure.
Recent changes
- October-November 2025: ETA piloted during South Africa's G20 Presidency for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico.
- August 2026: ETA officially launched on 12 August 2026; R500 electronic processing fee gazetted on 17 August 2026.
- Late 2026: ETA being made compulsory country by country for short stays by nationals who need port-of-entry visas; land and sea ports to follow.
Official source: Department of Home Affairs, Republic of South Africa · Not yet confirmed officially: eta.fee: R500 and R425 figures come from gazette text seen in official search snippets; the 17 Aug 2026 gazette PDF could not be text-extracted, and the R925 combined figure came from a pre-launch proposal, eta.validity and processing: taken from the eta.dha.gov.za FAQ as indexed; the FAQ page is script-rendered and could not be read directly, eta.status: which nationalities are already compulsory as of November 2026, consularVisa.processing time, scamWarning: no official warning about look-alike ETA sites found
What Nigeria passport holders need to do
- Apply on the destination's official e-Visa portal.
- Upload a passport scan and a photo, then pay the fee online.
- Save or print the approved e-Visa and present it at the border.
Nigeria is one of 32 passports in the “e-visa” group for South Africa. See the full South Africa visa requirements for every passport.
Easier alternatives in Africa for Nigeria passport holders
South Africa is one of 44 destinations in the “e-visa” group for the Nigeria passport, which ranks #86 worldwide with a mobility score of 43. Of 53 destinations in Africa, 26 need no visa arranged in advance; the easiest are listed below.
| Destination | Requirement | Max stay |
|---|---|---|
 Benin | Visa-free | 90 days |
 Burkina Faso | Visa-free | – |
 Cameroon | Visa-free | 90 days |
 Cape Verde | Visa-free | – |
 Chad | Visa-free | 90 days |
 Gambia | Visa-free | 90 days |
 Ghana | Visa-free | – |
 Guinea | Visa-free | – |
 Guinea-Bissau | Visa-free | – |
 Ivory Coast | Visa-free | 90 days |
 Liberia | Visa-free | – |
 Mali | Visa-free | – |
Frequently asked questions
Do Nigerian citizens need a visa for South Africa?
Nigeria passport holders need a visa for South Africa, and it can be applied for online as an e-Visa.
Can Nigerian citizens apply for South Africa visa online?
Yes. Nigeria passport holders are eligible for an e-Visa to South Africa, so the application can be completed online without visiting an embassy.
Do South Africa citizens need a visa for Nigeria?
South Africa passport holders can get a visa on arrival in Nigeria, so no application is needed before travelling.
South Africa visa requirements for other passports
Data last updated February 2026. This page covers short visits such as tourism. Rules can change at short notice and differ for work, study or long stays. Confirm with the embassy or official immigration website of South Africa before you book.