Do South Africans need a visa for Rwanda?

Visa-freefor South African passports

South Africans get a free 30-day visa when they land in Rwanda, so there’s nothing to apply for in advance.

Stay30 days

VisaFree (fee waived for African Union and Commonwealth citizens)

Difficulty 1 of 5

Last checkedChecked17 Oct 2026

What you need

Tick these off as you go. Your ticks are saved on this device.

Passport valid at least 6 months after your trip
Return or onward ticket
No plastic bags in your luggage

How to do it

Just fly in; the visa is issued at the airport.

Official site:

Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration

Airlines decide whether you can board using a database called Timatic. Before you fly, check your route on the IATA Travel Centre.

What it costs in rand

Item	Cost
Visa	Free (fee waived for African Union and Commonwealth citizens)

Rand amounts use the exchange rate on 9 October 2026 (R16.53 to the US dollar, R18.50 to the euro, R21.87 to the pound) and are rounded. Work out your whole trip in the budget calculator.

Common problems and fixes

Plastic bags taken at the airport

Plastic bags are banned. Pack in fabric or paper bags.

Shops shut on a Saturday morning

The last Saturday morning of each month is community work (Umuganda). Plan around it.

Plan your trip

Best timeJune to September, and December to February

MoneyRwandan franc (RWF)

Three trip ideas

Kigali

The Genocide Memorial, Kimironko market and a clean, safe city to walk.

Volcanoes National Park

Gorilla trekking: book the permit months ahead.

Lake Kivu

Lakeside towns and kayaking.

Good to know

Gorilla permits are very expensive: budget early.

Book

Flights Places to stay Tours and activities

Sources and checks

Checked17 Oct 2026

Checked on 17 Oct 2026 against the official government or embassy page, plus at least one independent source.

officialVisa on arrival · Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration, Rwanda · no date shown
dataPassport Index Data (visa matrix for 199 passports, updated 17 Feb 2026) · imorte, continuing the dataset by Ilya Ilyankou (MIT licence) · published 17 Feb 2026

How we check: our method and every source we use.

Spotted a change?

Rules change often. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll check it.

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