By Alize Scholtz

A visa is granted by a country to a foreigner allowing them to enter, stay inside or leave its territory. The word visa comes from the Latin charta visa, that can be translated as “verified paper” or literally “a paper that has been seen”.

The very first time reference was made to something that could be considered a visa is in the Bible book Nehemia. It takes place approximately 450 BC and a prophet asked King Artaxerxes for letters that he can show to governors in West Euphrates so that they can give him free passage to Judah. These letters served as our modern visa. With a piece of paper that was verified, this prophet could get a safe passage to another country that would otherwise not have been possible.

Before the First World War you did not need a visa to cross your country’s border. It was possible to travel to almost any place in the world without official documents and paperwork. However after the war many fears led to the implementation of laws that required passports and other paperwork confirming a persons citizenship and his or right to travel abroad. Up until that point passports and visas were usually the same type of travel documents. In the modern world visas became separate secondary travel documents, with passports acting as the primary travel documents.

If all this administration and paperwork sounds like effort and trouble, it is because are right. There are very good reasons why some countries have to control the flow of visitors to prevent immigration or other criminal activities. Luckily there are more than 100 countries that have visa policies and agreements in place with South Africa. It allows our citizens to travel freely between these countries without a visa. Of course, these agreements between nations include many benefits for us.

When you have access to a country without a visa, you do not have to complete long visa application forms to obtain access. Wave goodbye to all those additional documentation, like supporting letters from friends and employers, copies of bank statements and more. You can also save the extra cost. Whether you travel for work or pleasure, the application for a standard visa costs money. If you can travel without a visa, you don’t have to pay the additional cost for each person you travel with. To travel visa-free you can save days or weeks of forward planning. You therefore do not need to plan so far ahead and this allows you to travel across the world on the spur of the moment. So, pack your bag with ease, your next journey starts here.

South African passport holders can travel without a visa to more than 100 countries and areas. However take note that you still need a valid passport even though you can go visa-free to these countries.

Africa

Americas

Asia

Europa

Caribbean Islands

Middle East

Oceania

** Countries can be visited by South Africans without obtaining a visa beforehand. A visa will be granted with your arrival at the airport. It is issued by the visiting country to foreign citizens who need a visa to enter the country, but they do not require them to apply before they travel.