South Africa to Germany visa requirements

Yes — South African ordinary passport holders need a Schengen short-stay (Category C) visa to visit Germany for tourism. ETIAS does NOT apply to South Africans, who remain in the visa-required category. South Africa is on the EU's visa-required list, so an ordinary South African passport holder must obtain a Schengen short-stay (Type C) visa before travelling to Germany for tourism. The visa allows a maximum stay of 90 days within any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area. Applications in South Africa are handled exclusively by TLScontact, the German Missions' authorised external service provider, with Visa Application Centres in Centurion (Pretoria), Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein. The standard visa fee is EUR 90 for adults (EUR 45 for children aged 6-11, free under 6), plus a TLScontact service fee of roughly EUR 24.51 (about ZAR 480), payable in rand. Decisions normally take up to 15 calendar days, but appointments should be booked at least 4 weeks (ideally several weeks more) before departure. Note: the EU's ETIAS travel authorisation, launching in late 2026, applies only to visa-exempt nationalities and does NOT affect South Africans — they continue to need a full Schengen visa, not an ETIAS.