South Africa customs
Apply for visa
Free import
• Personal effects and sporting or recreational equipment for your own use during your stay. Customs may ask visitors for a refundable deposit on valuable items, returned when the goods leave South Africa.
• New or used goods (gifts and purchases) worth up to ZAR 5,000 per person, once every 30 days and only after an absence of at least 48 hours from South Africa.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 200 cigarettes and 20 cigars and 250 g of cigarette or pipe tobacco.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 2 L of wine and 1 L in total of other alcoholic beverages (including beer).
• 50 ml of perfume and 250 ml of eau de toilette.
• Above the ZAR 5,000 allowance, further goods worth up to ZAR 20,000 may be cleared at a flat rate of 20% duty with no VAT. If a single item is worth more than ZAR 25,000, both allowances fall away and normal duty and VAT (15%) apply.
• Allowances are per person and cannot be pooled. Crew members get no tobacco, alcohol or perfume allowance, a ZAR 700 goods allowance and a ZAR 2,000 flat-rate limit.
• Travelers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho or Namibia (SACU) pay no customs duty but VAT rules apply, and the 20% flat rate is not available to them. Travelers from SACU or SADC countries may bring up to 25 kg of handmade leather, wood, plastic, stone or glass articles of SACU or SADC origin duty-free once every 30 days.
• All travelers entering South Africa, including children, must submit an online traveller declaration to SARS (on the SARS website or the SATMS app) no more than 24 hours before departure on the last leg of the journey. Passengers who stay in the airport transit area are exempt. You will not be refused entry if you could not declare in advance; Customs will help you at the port.
Currency
• South African rand notes (and notes of Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia): up to ZAR 100,000 per person may be brought in. Larger amounts need prior written approval from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The limit does not apply when traveling within the Common Monetary Area (Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa).
• Visitors may bring in foreign currency, but all cash and bearer negotiable instruments (such as traveller's cheques) must be declared on the traveller declaration. SARS Customs treats more than ZAR 100,000 in total value, in any currency, as excess currency that needs prior written SARB approval, so arrange this before traveling with larger sums.
• Keep your declaration and exchange receipts: on departure you may take out only the foreign currency you brought in. Undeclared or excess currency can be seized.
Prohibited
• Narcotic and habit-forming drugs in any form
• Fully automatic, military and unnumbered weapons
• Explosives and fireworks
• Poisons and other toxic substances
• Cigarettes with a mass of more than 2 kg per 1,000
• Counterfeit goods and goods with a trade description or trademark applied in breach of the law
• Unlawful copies of works protected by copyright
• Prison-made and penitentiary-made goods
Restricted
• Firearms and ammunition need a temporary import permit under the Firearms Control Act. Apply on form SAPS 520 to the SAPS Central Firearms Control Register in Pretoria or to the Designated Firearms Officer at your port of entry, with your passport, proof of lawful ownership, the export authorization from your home country and proof of purpose (for example from a licensed hunting outfitter). Permits are issued for stays of up to 6 months for hunting, sport and similar purposes. Firearms are not covered by any traveler allowance.
• Gold coins (including Krugerrands), unprocessed minerals such as gold and diamonds, and excess currency need approval from the relevant authority.
• Animals, plants and their products (such as animal skins, dairy products and honey) need a permit. Live animals and animal products need a veterinary import permit from the Directorate of Animal Health (Department of Agriculture), obtained before shipment.
• Pet dogs and cats need a veterinary import permit issued in advance and an official veterinary health certificate in English, completed by an authorized veterinarian within 10 days of departure. The permit states the required tests and treatments, which can include a microchip and blood tests for dogs.
• Medicines: you may bring up to 3 months' supply for personal use, with a prescription or a letter from your doctor. Herbal products need a permit from the Department of Health.
• Endangered species of animals and plants (CITES) and products made from them, such as ivory, rhino horn and some hunting trophies, need permits from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment or the provincial conservation authority.
• Goods above the allowances, goods for trade and goods carried for someone else must be declared and go through the red channel. Undeclared goods can be seized and fined.
• Personal effects and sporting or recreational equipment for your own use during your stay. Customs may ask visitors for a refundable deposit on valuable items, returned when the goods leave South Africa.
• New or used goods (gifts and purchases) worth up to ZAR 5,000 per person, once every 30 days and only after an absence of at least 48 hours from South Africa.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 200 cigarettes and 20 cigars and 250 g of cigarette or pipe tobacco.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 2 L of wine and 1 L in total of other alcoholic beverages (including beer).
• 50 ml of perfume and 250 ml of eau de toilette.
• Above the ZAR 5,000 allowance, further goods worth up to ZAR 20,000 may be cleared at a flat rate of 20% duty with no VAT. If a single item is worth more than ZAR 25,000, both allowances fall away and normal duty and VAT (15%) apply.
• Allowances are per person and cannot be pooled. Crew members get no tobacco, alcohol or perfume allowance, a ZAR 700 goods allowance and a ZAR 2,000 flat-rate limit.
• Travelers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho or Namibia (SACU) pay no customs duty but VAT rules apply, and the 20% flat rate is not available to them. Travelers from SACU or SADC countries may bring up to 25 kg of handmade leather, wood, plastic, stone or glass articles of SACU or SADC origin duty-free once every 30 days.
• All travelers entering South Africa, including children, must submit an online traveller declaration to SARS (on the SARS website or the SATMS app) no more than 24 hours before departure on the last leg of the journey. Passengers who stay in the airport transit area are exempt. You will not be refused entry if you could not declare in advance; Customs will help you at the port.
Currency
• South African rand notes (and notes of Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia): up to ZAR 100,000 per person may be brought in. Larger amounts need prior written approval from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The limit does not apply when traveling within the Common Monetary Area (Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa).
• Visitors may bring in foreign currency, but all cash and bearer negotiable instruments (such as traveller's cheques) must be declared on the traveller declaration. SARS Customs treats more than ZAR 100,000 in total value, in any currency, as excess currency that needs prior written SARB approval, so arrange this before traveling with larger sums.
• Keep your declaration and exchange receipts: on departure you may take out only the foreign currency you brought in. Undeclared or excess currency can be seized.
Prohibited
• Narcotic and habit-forming drugs in any form
• Fully automatic, military and unnumbered weapons
• Explosives and fireworks
• Poisons and other toxic substances
• Cigarettes with a mass of more than 2 kg per 1,000
• Counterfeit goods and goods with a trade description or trademark applied in breach of the law
• Unlawful copies of works protected by copyright
• Prison-made and penitentiary-made goods
Restricted
• Firearms and ammunition need a temporary import permit under the Firearms Control Act. Apply on form SAPS 520 to the SAPS Central Firearms Control Register in Pretoria or to the Designated Firearms Officer at your port of entry, with your passport, proof of lawful ownership, the export authorization from your home country and proof of purpose (for example from a licensed hunting outfitter). Permits are issued for stays of up to 6 months for hunting, sport and similar purposes. Firearms are not covered by any traveler allowance.
• Gold coins (including Krugerrands), unprocessed minerals such as gold and diamonds, and excess currency need approval from the relevant authority.
• Animals, plants and their products (such as animal skins, dairy products and honey) need a permit. Live animals and animal products need a veterinary import permit from the Directorate of Animal Health (Department of Agriculture), obtained before shipment.
• Pet dogs and cats need a veterinary import permit issued in advance and an official veterinary health certificate in English, completed by an authorized veterinarian within 10 days of departure. The permit states the required tests and treatments, which can include a microchip and blood tests for dogs.
• Medicines: you may bring up to 3 months' supply for personal use, with a prescription or a letter from your doctor. Herbal products need a permit from the Department of Health.
• Endangered species of animals and plants (CITES) and products made from them, such as ivory, rhino horn and some hunting trophies, need permits from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment or the provincial conservation authority.
• Goods above the allowances, goods for trade and goods carried for someone else must be declared and go through the red channel. Undeclared goods can be seized and fined.