Visa on arrival

Cape Verde visa for citizens of South Africa

Citizens of South Africa get a Cape Verde visa on arrival at passport control. You don’t apply in advance, but border officers check your passport, return ticket and accommodation. Visago checks your documents before you travel. It costs $19.

For citizens of South Africa: the passport opens 60 countries visa-free; Pretoria — Praia: ≈ 7,190 km, about 9.5 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

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Can I travel to Cape Verde without a visa on a South Africa passport?

You don’t need to apply in advance: citizens of South Africa get the visa on arrival. To avoid problems at the border, we check your documents for $19.

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Cape Verde visa rules at a glance

With a South Africa passport you can visit 60 countries visa-free, 29 with a visa on arrival and 39 with an e-visa; 70 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the South Africa passport ranks 96th of 199.
South Africa passport: visa-free access to 60 countries; Cape Verde passport: 39.
Citizens of South Africa and Cape Verde can travel together visa-free to 24 countries, for example: Zambia, Angola, Rwanda, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Benin, Ghana, Palestine, Gambia, Tunisia, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, and Barbados.
Citizens of Cape Verde, in turn, don’t need a visa for South Africa. South Africa visa for citizens of Cape Verde

Travelling to Cape Verde: good to know

Pretoria — Praia: about 7,190 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 9.5 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: −3 hours.
Local time: Pretoria 12:00 — Praia 09:00.
Local currency: Cape Verdean Escudo.
Languages: Portuguese.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ CVE 97.
Cape Verde is the 68th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of South Africa.