No visa needed

Do citizens of Costa Rica need a visa for South Africa?

Citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for South Africa and can stay up to 30 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Costa Rica: the passport opens 90 countries visa-free; San José — Pretoria: ≈ 12,710 km, about 16.5 hours of flying.

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

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 30 days

Can I travel to South Africa without a visa on a Costa Rica passport?

Yes, citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for South Africa for up to 30 days. A valid passport is enough.

South Africa visa rules at a glance

With a Costa Rica passport you can visit 90 countries visa-free, 31 with a visa on arrival and 48 with an e-visa; 29 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Costa Rica passport ranks 67th of 199.
Costa Rica passport: visa-free access to 90 countries; South Africa passport: 60.
Citizens of Costa Rica and South Africa can travel together visa-free to 39 countries, for example: Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Ecuador, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Venezuela, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Citizens of South Africa, in turn, don’t need a visa for Costa Rica. Costa Rica visa for citizens of South Africa

Travelling to South Africa: good to know

San José — Pretoria: about 12,710 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 16.5 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +8 hours.
Local time: San José 12:00 — Pretoria 20:00.
Local currency: South African Rand.
Languages: Afrikaans, English, South Ndebele, and Northern Sotho.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ ZAR 16.
South Africa is the 137th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Costa Rica.