How many visa-free countries with a Botswana passport?

72 destinations out of 198 open without a prior application (46 visa-free, 6 with an electronic authorisation, 20 with a visa on arrival). Counting e-visas too, which remain an online application, the total is 110. Data dated 2026-02-17.

Why do websites give different numbers for the Botswana passport?

Because they count different things. Strictly visa-free gives 46 countries; adding electronic authorisations and visas on arrival (the Henley Passport Index count) gives 72; adding e-visas gives 110. An outdated source adds another gap.

What is the rank of the Botswana passport?

116 out of 199 ranked passports, by destinations reachable without a prior application.

Entry right

Visa-free countries with a Botswana passport

72 destinations without a prior application, out of 198.

Rank 116 of 199 passports. Data dated 2026-02-17, 39,402 passport/destination pairs.

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Why you read different numbers elsewhere

For the same Botswana passport, websites give totals that don't match. They are not necessarily wrong: they count different things, without saying so. Here are the three definitions, applied to the same data.

Strictly visa-free: 46; You show your passport, nothing else.
No prior application: 72; + electronic authorisation and visa on arrival. The Henley Passport Index count, and ours.
Counting e-visas: 110; + e-visa. More flattering, but still an application.

Where the Botswana passport opens doors

Destinations reachable without prior application by region, Botswana passport
Region	Open doors	Countries
Western Europe	0	24
Central & Eastern Europe	2	21
North America	0	3
Latin America & Caribbean	18	32
East Asia	3	8
Southeast Asia	6	11
South Asia	4	8
Central Asia	0	5
Middle East	3	19
North Africa	0	6
West Africa	8	16
East Africa & Horn	11	14
Central Africa	1	9
Southern Africa	8	8
Oceania	8	14

All 198 countries, one by one

Visa-free entry. — 46

Georgia · 360 days
Antigua & Barbuda · 180 days
Barbados · 180 days
Dominica · 180 days
Fiji · 120 days
Vanuatu · 120 days
Bahamas · 90 days
Bangladesh · 90 days
Benin · 90 days
Brazil · 90 days
Ecuador · 90 days
Gambia · 90 days
Grenada · 90 days
Guyana · 90 days
Haiti · 90 days
Hong Kong · 90 days
Kenya · 90 days
Kiribati · 90 days
Kosovo · 90 days
Malawi · 90 days
Mauritius · 90 days
Namibia · 90 days
Panama · 90 days
Seychelles · 90 days
South Africa · 90 days
St. Vincent & Grenadines · 90 days
Tanzania · 90 days
Uganda · 90 days
Zambia · 90 days
Zimbabwe · 90 days
Ghana · 60 days
St. Lucia · 42 days
Angola · 30 days
Dominican Republic · 30 days
Eswatini · 30 days
Malaysia · 30 days
Micronesia · 30 days
Philippines · 30 days
Russia · 30 days
Rwanda · 30 days
Singapore · 30 days
Belize
Jamaica
Lesotho
Mozambique
Trinidad & Tobago

Electronic authorisation to obtain before departure. — 6

Visa issued on arrival. — 20

E-visa to apply for online before leaving. — 38

The Schengen visa, consulate by consulate

10.8% of Schengen visa applications filed there were refused in 2025. Each consulate's rate, and its change:

See refusals by consulate

Layovers on a Botswana passport: where a transit visa is required

Living in France? What a French residence permit opens: Schengen, overseas France, the UK, Türkiye, Morocco (in French)

Other passports

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. Source: passport-index-data, compiled from passportindex.org, dated 2026-02-17. Botswana passport, 2026.