Ireland recently removed South Africa from its visa-free list, meaning its passport has weakened and moved down the world ranking in the Henley Passport Index.
In April 2024, it was reported that Ireland was discussing ending visa-free travel for South Africa.
The move was reportedly a strategy to clamp down on asylum applications, with the Irish Department of Justice noting that the country has received hundreds of International Protection applications from Zimbabweans and people from the Democratic Republic of Congo travelling on these passports.
Unfortunately, Ireland made the decision to move ahead with this plan, and all South African citizens require a visa to travel to Ireland as of 10 July 2024.
McEntee highlighted that the Dublin Visa Office will establish a dedicated ‘South Africa desk’ to process applications from South African nationals.
Single-entry visas cost R1,200, while multi-entry R2,000. No refunds are paid if the application is refused.
However, this news means that the number of countries that South Africans can visit visa-free has dropped to 107 from 108.
This also means that the strength of the South African passport, outlined by the Henley Passport Index, weakens.
According to the 2024 index, four EU members—France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—have joined Japan and Singapore in having the strongest passports in the world.
Citizens in these countries can travel to 194 out of 227 countries worldwide without a visa.
The index is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest and most accurate travel information database.
However, South Africa now ranks 53rd as a result of losing access to Ireland, one place below Qatar.
Since 2006, South Africa’s ranking position has dropped from a high of 35 in 2009 to a low of 58 in 2021.
This is concerning as Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, said that the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the passport mobility index is now greater than ever.
“The average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.
However, as we enter the new year, the top-ranked countries are now able to travel to a staggering 166 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom of the ranking with access to just 28 countries without a visa,” Kaelin said.
| Rank | Country | Access |
| 1 | Singapore | 195 |
| 2 | France | 194 |
| 2 | Germany | 194 |
| 2 | Italy | 194 |
| 2 | Japan | 194 |
| 2 | Spain | 194 |
| 3 | Finland | 193 |
| 3 | Austria | 193 |
| 3 | Ireland | 193 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 193 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 193 |
| 3 | South Korea | 193 |
| 3 | Sweden | 193 |
| 51 | Turkey | 118 |
| 52 | Qatar | 108 |
| 53 | South Africa | 107 |
| 54 | Belize | 104 |
| 55 | Kuwait | 102 |
| 103 | Syria | 29 |
| 104 | Afghanistan | 28 |
The 107 visa-free countries
Since the last index, South Africans can now travel to Kiribati in Oceania without a visa. The small island nation is home to just over 120,000 people.
Many countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Asia allow South Africans to travel without a visa.
However, popular emigration hotspots for South Africans, including the UK, Australia, and the USA, still require a visa.
What’s worse, Ireland was one of only four countries in Europe that offered visa-free travel to South Africans, meaning this now drops to three.
Georgia, Kosovo, and the Russian Federation are the three remaining European countries that South Africa can still access visa-free.
The 107 countries that South Africans can visit without a visa can be found below (Note: *visa on arrival, **eTA):
Africa
| Angola | Kenya | Seychelles* |
| Benin | Lesotho | Sierra Leone* |
| Botswana | Madagascar* | Somalia* |
| Burundi* | Malawi | St. Helena* |
| Cape Verde Islands* | Mauritania* | Tanzania |
| Comoro Islands* | Mauritius | The Gambia |
| eSwatini | Mozambique | Togo* |
| Ethiopia* | Namibia | Tunisia |
| Gabon | Nigeria* | Uganda* |
| Ghana* | Reunion | Zambia |
| Guinea-Bissau* | Rwanda* | Djibouti * |
| Zimbabwe | Senegal |
Americas
| Argentina | Ecuador | Nicaragua |
| Belize | El Salvador | Panama |
| Bolivia* | Falkland Islands | Paraguay |
| Brazil | Guatemala | Peru |
| Chile | Guyana | Uruguay |
| Costa Rica | Honduras | Venezuela |
Asia
| Cambodia* | Malaysia | Sri Lanka* |
| Hong Kong (SAR China) | Maldives* | Tajikistan* |
| Indonesia | Nepal* | Thailand |
| Kyrgyzstan* | Pakistan* | Timor-Leste* |
| Laos* | Phillipines | South Korea ** |
| Macao (SAR China) | Singapore |
Caribbean
| Antigua and Barbuda | Dominican Republic | St. Lucia |
| Bahamas | Grenada | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Barbados | Haiti | Trinidad and Tobago |
| British Virgin Islands | Jamaica | Turks and Caicos |
| Cayman Islands | Montserrat | |
| Dominica | St. Kitts and Nevis |
Europe
| Georgia | Russian Federation | Kosovo |
Middle East
| Armenia* | Jordan* | Qatar |
| Iran* | Oman | Saudi Arabia* |
| Israel | Palestinian Territories |
Oceania
| Cook Islands | Micronesia | Samoa* |
| Fiji | Niue | Tuvalu* |
| Kiribati | Palau Islands* | Vanuatu |
| Marshall Islands* |
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