Is South Africa the accredited post for the region?

For a great many destinations, yes. Applicants from Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are frequently routed here; check your own country's page.

Which routes need no employer sponsor?

More than for most origins on this list, because more destinations are reachable. The count is below and the routes are on each destination's page.

All destinations

Moving abroad from South Africa: visa routes and where to apply

Which of the destinations we track keep a mission you can reach from South Africa, what each one says, and how many routes sit behind it.

South Africa has the strongest diplomatic reach on this list after India: almost every destination we track keeps a mission in Pretoria, Johannesburg or Cape Town, and the five that do not are all small European states. Pretoria is also the accredited post for a large part of southern Africa.

65
destinations you can file for: 5
need a journey: 453
routes at reachable destinations: 26
of those need no employer

How these reach verdicts are sourced

Every entry on this page carries the page it came from and the month it was recorded. Where that source is not the destination's own missions directory, the entry says so and is marked unverified — we are re-sourcing them against official pages, and a verdict changes badge automatically once its destination is done.

Where you can file from South Africa

Ordered by how many routes we track, so the destinations with most to read come first.

United Kingdom

Reachable

The UK has a high commission in South Africa, per gov.uk's directory.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: gov.uk — the destination's own page

18 routes

Canada

Reachable

Canada maintains a High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

14 routes

United States

Reachable

US Embassy resident in Pretoria, South Africa (with consulates-general in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

14 routes

Germany

Reachable

Germany has an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

13 routes

Australia

Reachable

Australia maintains a High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

10 routes

Denmark

Reachable

Denmark has an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

10 routes

Ethiopia

Reachable

Ethiopia has an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

10 routes

Ireland

Reachable

Ireland maintains a direct embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

10 routes

Spain

Reachable

Spain has an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: exteriores.gob.es — the destination's own page

10 routes

Uganda

Reachable

Ugandan High Commission resident in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

10 routes

France

Reachable

France maintains a direct embassy in Pretoria (plus consulates-general in Cape Town and Johannesburg).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

9 routes

Portugal

Reachable

Portugal has a resident embassy in Pretoria, plus consulates in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

9 routes

Austria

Reachable

Austria maintains a resident embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Bangladesh

Reachable

Bangladesh maintains a High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Croatia

Reachable

Croatia maintains a direct embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Hungary

Reachable

Hungary maintains a direct embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Indonesia

Reachable

Indonesia maintains a direct embassy in Pretoria, which also has concurrent accreditation to Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Kenya

Reachable

Kenya has a resident High Commission/Embassy in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Lithuania

Reachable

Lithuania has a resident Embassy in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Philippines

Reachable

The Philippines has a resident Embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Türkiye

Reachable

Turkish Embassy resident in Pretoria (and Cape Town), South Africa, which also covers Eswatini and Lesotho.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Argentina

Reachable

Argentina maintains a resident embassy in Pretoria plus a consulate-general in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Bulgaria

Reachable

Bulgaria maintains a resident embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Dominican Republic

Reachable

South Africa appears in MIREX's official directory of Dominican Republic embassies abroad.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: consultas.mirex.gob.do — the destination's own page

7 routes

Ghana

Reachable

Ghana maintains a high commission in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

India

Reachable

India maintains a high commission in Pretoria plus three consulates-general.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Italy

Reachable

Italy has a resident embassy in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Kuwait

Reachable

Kuwait has a resident Embassy in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Mauritius

Reachable

Mauritius has a resident High Commission in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Nepal

Reachable

No mission in South Africa; covered by Nepal's Embassy in Cairo, Egypt (concurrent accreditation).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Netherlands

Reachable

The Netherlands has a resident Embassy in Pretoria plus a Consulate-General in Cape Town.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

New Zealand

Reachable

New Zealand has a resident High Commission in Pretoria (also accredited to Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Nigeria

Reachable

Nigeria has a resident High Commission in Pretoria plus a Consulate-General in Johannesburg.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Singapore

Reachable

Singapore has a resident High Commission in Pretoria. Wikipedia source.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Slovenia

Reachable

Covered by the Slovenian embassy in Cairo, Egypt (concurrent accreditation).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Switzerland

Reachable

Switzerland maintains a resident embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

United Arab Emirates

Reachable

UAE maintains a resident embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

7 routes

Namibia

Reachable

Namibia has a resident High Commission in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Oman

Reachable

Oman has a resident Embassy in Pretoria (also accredited to Angola, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Peru

Reachable

Peru has a resident Embassy in Pretoria (also accredited to Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Poland

Reachable

Poland has a resident embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Romania

Reachable

Romania has a resident embassy in Pretoria and a consulate-general in Cape Town.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Rwanda

Reachable

Rwanda has a resident High Commission in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Sweden

Reachable

Sweden has a resident embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Taiwan

Reachable

Taiwan Liaison Office resident in Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa (opened 1998) — a TECO-style office, not a formal embassy.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Thailand

Reachable

Thai Embassy resident in Pretoria, South Africa, which also covers Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Trinidad & Tobago

Reachable

Trinidad and Tobago High Commission resident in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

6 routes

Botswana

Reachable

Botswana maintains a High Commission in Pretoria plus consulates-general in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Chile

Reachable

Chile has an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Cyprus

Reachable

South Africa appears on Cyprus MFA's official list of countries with an accredited Cypriot diplomatic mission (embassy, consulate, or honorary consular post).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: gov.cy — the destination's own page

5 routes

Czechia

Reachable

Czech Republic has an embassy in Pretoria/South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: mzv.gov.cz — the destination's own page

5 routes

Greece

Reachable

Greece maintains a direct embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Malaysia

Reachable

Malaysia has a resident High Commission in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Saudi Arabia

Reachable

Saudi Arabia has a resident embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Tanzania

Reachable

Tanzanian High Commission resident in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Belgium

Reachable

Belgium maintains a resident embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

4 routes

Finland

Reachable

Finland has an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

4 routes

Jamaica

Reachable

Jamaica has a resident High Commission in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

4 routes

Uruguay

Reachable

Uruguayan Embassy resident in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

4 routes

Zambia

Reachable

Zambian High Commission resident in Pretoria, South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

4 routes

El Salvador

Reachable

Covered by El Salvador's embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel (concurrent accreditation).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

3 routes

Norway

Reachable

Norway has a resident Embassy in Pretoria (also accredited to Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Zimbabwe).

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

3 routes

Sri Lanka

Reachable

Sri Lanka has a resident High Commission in Pretoria. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

3 routes

Slovakia

Reachable

Slovakia has a resident embassy in Pretoria.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

2 routes

Zimbabwe

Reachable

Zimbabwean Embassy resident in Pretoria (with missions in Johannesburg and Cape Town), South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

1 routes

Where you cannot, and where you would go instead

These destinations take no visa applications in South Africa. Each names the post that handles them, so the journey is a cost you can plan rather than discover.

Estonia

Not reachable

No Estonian embassy in South Africa and no accredited-from note found.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

3 routes

Iceland

Not reachable

Iceland's embassy in South Africa closed in 2009 and has not been listed as reopened; no current mission covers South Africa.

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

9 routes

Latvia

Not reachable

No resident Latvian mission and no named regional hub covers this country; Latvia's diplomatic network in this region is limited to Cairo (Egypt) and New Delhi (India). (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

8 routes

Luxembourg

Not reachable

No resident Luxembourg mission and no named regional hub covers this country. (Note: Luxembourg's former embassies in Mali and Niger were closed in 2025.) (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

3 routes

Malta

Not reachable

No resident Maltese mission and no named regional hub covers this country. (Source: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of' page, used as a secondary/aggregated source citing the destination's own MFA data; the official MFA site was not queried directly in this pass due to search-tool budget limits.)

Recorded 2026-08 · Source: en.wikipedia.org

Not yet re-checked against this destination's own missions page.

5 routes

Routes at these destinations that need no employer

As far as we have read the official rules. A route needing no sponsor still has its own requirements.

Austria
Job-Seeker Visa (Very Highly Qualified Workers)
Austria's job-seeker visa for very highly qualified workers, governed by the Settlement and Residence Act and the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, lets a third-country national without a job offer come to Austria for six months to look for work — the entry door to the Red-White-Red Card system.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Austria
Red-White-Red Card — Start-up Founders
Austria's Red-White-Red Card for Start-up Founders, governed by the Settlement and Residence Act and the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, admits third-country nationals who establish a company to develop and launch innovative products, services, processing methods or technologies.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Belgium
EU Blue Card
The EU Blue Card is Belgium's residence and work permit for highly-qualified non-EU nationals, implementing the EU Blue Card Directive.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Belgium
Professional Card (self-employed, Brussels or Flanders)
Belgium's professional card, issued by Brussels Economy and Employment for non-EU nationals seeking self-employed or independent activity, is the mechanism for registering with the Enterprise Crossroads Bank and conducting business.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Bulgaria
EU Blue Card
Bulgaria's EU Blue Card route for highly-qualified workers is governed by the Employment Promotion Act and requires a long-term Type D visa plus the Blue Card itself.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Canada
Express Entry — Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is one of the three core economic programs Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) manages through the point-based Express Entry pool, designed for skilled workers with eligible Canadian work experience.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Canada
Express Entry — STEM Occupations Category
Canada's Express Entry system for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations is a category-based selection stream run by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) inside the point-based Express Entry pool.
- No employer sponsor needed
- About 6 months
View route details
Croatia
EU Blue Card (stay and work permit)
Croatia's EU Blue Card is a stay-and-work permit for a highly qualified third-country national, issued without a labour market test or the opinion of the Croatian Employment Service.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Croatia
Temporary stay of digital nomads
Croatia's temporary stay of digital nomads, administered by the Ministry of the Interior under the Aliens Act, is for third-country nationals who work through communication technology for a company — or their own company — not registered in Croatia, and who perform no work for Croatian employers.
- No employer sponsor needed
- About 8 months
View route details
Denmark
Start-up Denmark
Start-up Denmark is the two-stage founder route for non-EU/EEA, non-Swiss citizens (and Danish citizens bringing overseas family): first the business plan must be approved by the Startup Denmark expert panel, then the founder applies separately to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI…
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
El Salvador
Residencia Temporal con Autorización de Trabajar
El Salvador's Temporary Residence with Work Authorization (Residencia Temporal con Autorización de Trabajar, form F3) is one of the temporary-residence categories issued by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME) and is the mechanism by which a foreign national is authorised to carry out remunerated …
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details
Finland
EU Blue Card
Finland's EU Blue Card is for highly-qualified workers from outside the EU.
- No employer sponsor needed
View route details

This page is about where you apply from, not what passport you hold

The research behind it records whether someone applying from South Africa can reach a mission of each destination. That is a fact about where you are, not about your nationality. The two usually coincide and sometimes do not — and where a route restricts by nationality in its own published rules, that restriction is on the route, not here. Of the routes we track, only two record one at all.

Questions people applying from South Africa ask

Pretoria, Johannesburg or Cape Town?: It varies by destination — the embassy is usually in Pretoria with consulates elsewhere, and which one takes visa applications differs. The destination's own page is the authority.
Is South Africa the accredited post for the region?: For a great many destinations, yes. Applicants from Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are frequently routed here; check your own country's page.
Which routes need no employer sponsor?: More than for most origins on this list, because more destinations are reachable. The count is below and the routes are on each destination's page.

Which of these are actually open to you?

This page says where you can apply. Which routes you match — against your qualifications, your funds and your language — is what an account works out, across every route we track rather than one country at a time.

Check my routes

Fursa is an independent information service, not a law firm or a registered immigration adviser. We link every figure to the official source so you can check it yourself.