South Africa — the ETA is live, and nothing got harder
On 12 August 2026 South Africa formally launched its Electronic Travel Authorisation at OR Tambo, live at OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria. The pilot nationalities are China, India, Indonesia and Mexico — all of which already had to arrange permission online before travel, so no verdict on this site changes. The Department of Home Affairs says the ETA 'will progressively become compulsory for short stay visits from countries that require port-of-entry visas' and will be offered to visa-exempt travellers 'on a voluntary basis'. That is an extra channel, not a new barrier: we do not turn a visa-free verdict into 'authorisation required' until a government source says the old route is closed. A separate application fee was put out for public comment in Government Gazette No. 55072 of 27 July 2026 but we found no confirmation it is in force, so we do not publish a number.
Who this affects
What has NOT changed
A change to the visa rule does not change these. They apply as before.