South Africa | Electronic Travel Authorization to launch Aug. 12 following profitable pilot program

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs announced the complete rollout of the nation’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system, set to launch Aug. 12, 2026.

Key takeaways:

Following a profitable ETA pilot program with vacationers from choose international locations, South Africa will formally launch ETA on Aug. 12 for all eligible nationals touring for enterprise or tourism. The ETA system will implement superior biometrics and machine studying to make journey to South Africa sooner and safer, in line with the announcement. The first part of the ETA pilot program was launched in October 2025.

ETA permits vacationers to:

• Visit South Africa with out the necessity for a conventional customer’s visa
• Enter South Africa for as much as 90 days for tourism or enterprise
• Have a number of entries restricted to 90 days per go to

As BAL beforehand reported, the division just lately proposed a brand new 500 South African rand (about US$30) processing price for ETA purposes filed and processed on-line.

This alert has been supplied by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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