South African passport holders can visit these 8 Middle East countries visa-free

The latest Henley & Partners Passport Index for 2023 outlines the 107 countries that South African passport holders can travel to without requiring a visa.

The index included 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, ranking them quarterly in terms of travel power.

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Each passport was scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free.

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South Africa placed 95th out of 199 countries with a visa-free score of 107.

That means there are 107 countries across the world that a South African passport holder can travel to visa-free.

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Meanwhile, the index found that the Singapore passport was the most powerful with a visa-free score of 193, followed by Japan on 191.

Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain and Sweden all tied for third with 190.

Afghanistan sits at the bottom of the list with a score of 27.

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Of those 107 countries, 7 are in the Middle East.

They are: Armenia*, Iran*, Israel, Jordan*, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia*

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Countries SA passport holders can visit visa-free per region:

Africa – 35

Americas – 18

Asia – 17

Caribbean – 16

Europe – 4

Middle East – 8

Oceania – 9

The 107 countries SA passport holders can visit visa-free:

* visa on arrival, ** electronic travel authority (ETA)

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia *

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Benin

Bolivia *

Botswana

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

Burundi *

Cambodia *

Cape Verde Islands *

Cayman Islands

Chile

Comoro Islands *

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Djibouti *

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt *

El Salvador

eSwatini

Ethiopia *

Falkland Islands

Fiji

Gabon

Georgia

Ghana *

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea-Bissau *

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong (SAR China)

Indonesia

Iran *

Ireland

Israel

Jamaica

Jordan *

Kenya

Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan *

Laos *

Lesotho

Macao (SAR China)

Madagascar *

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives *

Marshall Islands *

Mauritania *

Mauritius

Micronesia

Montserrat

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal *

Nicaragua

Nigeria *

Niue

Oman

Pakistan **

Palau Islands *

Palestinian Territory

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Reunion

Russian Federation

Rwanda

Samoa *

Saudi Arabia *

Senegal

Seychelles *

Sierra Leone *

Singapore

Somalia *

South Korea **

Sri Lanka **

St. Helena *

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Tajikistan *

Tanzania

Thailand

The Gambia

Timor-Leste *

Togo *

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turks and Caicos Islands

Tuvalu *

Uruguay

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Zambia

Zimbabwe