Do you need a visa for Italy with a South African passport?

Visa required, filed at a consulate before departure. Applications go through Ministero degli Affari Esteri. It is the only source that counts.

Entry right

Italy, on a South African passport

Visa required, filed at a consulate before departure.

The record sets no duration. Check the stay limit with the consulate before a long stay.

All visa-free countries with a South African passport

What changed

Unchanged between the 12 January 2025 and 17 February 2026 datasets: visa required, through a consulate.

The official portal

Applications go through Ministero degli Affari Esteri. It is the only source that counts.

Open the official portal

Medical insurance

Many consulates require proof of medical insurance among the supporting documents — the Schengen area, for instance, asks for €30,000 of cover. The exact list is on the official portal above: that is the authority, not us.

Compare travel insurance

Italy consulates: refusal rates

Schengen visa applications filed with Italy in South Africa, 2025 (European Commission):

Johannesburg — 3.3% refused, 20,725 applications · 2024: 4.1% (−0.9 pts)
Le Cap — 2.3% refused, 11,891 applications · 2024: 2.0% (+0.3 pts)
Pretoria — 5.7% refused, 916 applications · 2024: 9.5% (−3.8 pts)

All Schengen consulates in this country

A layover in Italy

Rome · FCO — airside connection, nothing to show
Milan · MXP — airside connection, nothing to show
Venise · VCE — airside connection, nothing to show

International-to-international connection, single booking, same airport. Exemptions for holders of certain visas or residence permits are not assumed.

All 166 layovers for this passport

Staying longer

This country has a scheme for remote workers: Visa nomade numérique (2024). It takes over when the entry period is no longer enough.

The other way round

A Italy passport travelling to South Africa: visa-free.

See the reverse page

Same region, same passport

Western Europe: with a South African passport, none of the 23 other countries in the region opens visa-free or with a simple online authorisation.

Consulate visa (23): Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City

Once you are there

The country guide What a stay costs When to go

Cities rated for working there

Rome 85 Florence 84 Milan 84 Venise 83 Gênes 82 Naples 82

The same country, on another passport

France Belgium Switzerland Luxembourg Monaco Morocco Algeria Tunisia

All 199 passports, in the Trousseau

What this page does not replace

Entry rules change often, sometimes overnight. This record gives the known state, with its source; it does not replace checking with the destination’s embassy or consulate, the only authority on the day you leave.

passportindex.org · 39 402 couples · relevé 2026-02-17