South Africa to Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) visa requirements

South African ordinary passport holders need a visa to visit Taiwan. South Africa is not on Taiwan's visa-exempt list and is not eligible for the eVisa, so you must apply for a visitor (tourist) visa in advance at a Taipei Liaison Office. Notably, the visa fee is currently free for South African passport holders. As of 30 May 2026, holders of an ordinary South African passport require a visa to enter Taiwan for tourism. South Africa does not appear on Taiwan's visa-exempt list (which covers most EU/Schengen states, the UK, US, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and others), nor among the countries eligible for Taiwan's eVisa scheme. South Africans must therefore lodge a traditional visitor visa application. The application form is completed online at the BOCA portal (visawebapp.boca.gov.tw), then printed with its barcode and submitted with supporting documents to the Taipei Liaison Office in Pretoria or Cape Town. Crucially, under the reciprocal arrangement between Taiwan and South Africa, the visitor visa is issued free of charge to South African ordinary passport holders for both single- and multiple-entry visas. A single-entry visitor visa is typically valid for three months from issue and permits a stay of up to 60 days (extendable in Taiwan), while durations of 14, 30, 60 or 90 days may be granted. Applicants should hold a passport valid at least six months with blank pages, a confirmed return ticket, proof of accommodation/itinerary, and bank statements (at least R20,000 for stays under 25 days, R60,000 for longer).