South Africa has not removed passport requirements for Nigerian travelers

South Africa and Nigeria, the continent’s two economic heavyweights, have long had a rivalry, with tensions spilling over into sports and regional political influence. Amid deep-seated anti-foreign sentiments, social media users in South Africa were outraged after President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly announced that Nigerian travelers would not have to submit their passports for a visa. Some interpreted the leader’s comments at a recent event as an introduction of entirely new measures. However, Ramaphosa was actually talking about an online visa process that requires uploading a certified copy of the passport instead of a physical copy. Once approved, the physical document must still be presented. The process was first rolled out in 2019 and covers more than 30 countries, not just Nigeria.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced efforts to introduce a simplified five-year multiple-entry visa for Nigerian tourists, abolishing the requirement to submit passports,” an X account wrote on December 3, 2024.

Screenshot of the misleading X-post, taken on December 11, 2024

“South Africa plans to introduce a five-year visa for Nigerian tourists, eliminating the requirement to submit passports,” another X message said.

Screenshot of the misleading X-post, taken on December 11, 2024

“The same Nigeria whose citizens in South Africa (sic) are engaged in drugs, counterfeit goods and human trafficking (sic),” an X user replied.

Another

However, AFP Fact Check found that Ramaphosa’s comments lacked context: Nigerians are not exempt from submitting their passports during the visa application process.

What does it mean?

The confusion arose after Ramaphosa spoke at a session of the South Africa-Nigeria Bi-National Commission in Cape Town on December 3, 2024.

“Our efforts to create an enabling environment include our simplified visa process for Nigerian businessmen to travel to South Africa,” he said at the event attended by his Nigerian counterpart Bola Tinubu (archived here).

“Qualifying Nigerian businessmen can be granted a five-year multiple-entry visa,” he added.

“Furthermore, tourists from Nigeria can now apply for a visa without even submitting a passport.”

In light of the public reactions, the South African presidency clarified the comments in a statement the day after the event (archived here).

“Potential travelers can apply for their visa without submitting their passport with their application,” the report said.

“When Nigerians apply for their South Africa visa, they are only required to submit certified copies of the bio page of their passport and the physical passport must also be used during the application process for verification and confirmation. Once a visa is approved, they must submit their passport so that the process can be completed and the visa can be affixed to the passport.”

South Africa’s e-Visa system was launched in November 2019 and is available in more than 34 countries to date (archived here).

Nigeria’s inclusion was reported by local media in September 2022 during a tourism event in Lagos (archived here).

A spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) told AFP Fact Check that Home Affairs had simplified the procedure to align with international standards.

“This is not a visa-free announcement for Nigerians, but rather an administrative procedure common worldwide,” Chrispin Phiri said.

He emphasized that this procedure applies to all nationalities – not just Nigeria.

The powerhouses of Africa

As reported by local media (here and here), Nigerians have previously missed assignments in other countries because their physical passports were left hanging at the South African embassy (filed here and here).

Nigerian Grammy-nominated singer Ayra Starr canceled multiple performances in South Africa after her visa was denied (archived here).

Local event organizers said at the time it was a persistent problem for artists traveling from West Africa.

AFP reported in October that several issues are contributing to long-simmering tensions between the two continental economic heavyweights, including divisions over sports, music and most recently a viral beauty pageant (archived here).

South Africa attracts many migrants despite having one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. This combined with a bleak economic outlook has led to sporadic outbreaks of violence against immigrants, including against Nigerians (archived here and here).

AFP Fact Check previously reported how misleading social media posts have exacerbated these disputes.