bjamie

Hello! In about 2 weeks I head out for Africa, and I thought I had enough space in my passport but recent stories have left me questioning and I am not finding definitive answers online! Here is the itinerary: We fly into Johannesburg (via Dubai, but we are from the US) and spend the night before heading on to Botswana. Then, Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls) before flying down to Cape Town for a few days before going home. I am aware that South Africa requires 2 adjoining blank passport pages, and I have that, but just ONE set of those. Since we are entering the country twice, do I need TWO sets? Or will they affix the visa on our overnight in Johannesburg and then just stamp it upon our reentry to Cape Town about 12 days later? Also, I have been hearing from a few people that Zimbabwe now requires 2 adjoining pages as well for their visa.... I have 6 blank pages total, but only 2 of them are adjoining. Is that sufficient? It sure seems like 6 pages should be plenty for a 2 week trip that covers 3 countries, and I would rather avoid the hassle and money of now expediting a new passport, but I also don't want to be sweating bullets at each border crossing! Can anybody speak to their experience reentering SA on the same trip, and also to what that pesky Zimbabwe visa actually requires in real life? Thank you so much!

Odin

I can't find anywhere where is says that the blank pages need to be adjoining and that applies to both ZA and Zim. I believe that the requirement is that you have 2 blank pages and I would assume that would be per entry to those countries. Can't see why re-entering the same country twice on a single trip makes any difference, you are entering and leaving the country twice so need to have enough blank pages to comply with their requirements.
Having said that, I have plenty of blank pages in my passport but when visiting ZA last time, it was stamped on pages that already had other stamps. I would still comply with the requirement and get a new passport, I would not risk my trip because I got someone who stuck by the rules but this is only my opinion.

bjamie

. Can't see why re-entering the same country twice on a single trip makes any difference, you are entering and leaving the country twice so need to have enough blank pages to comply with their requirements.

Wouldn't it make a difference because the thing that takes up space is the visa, and it is a 90 day visa? Meaning you wouldn't need a new one when entering the country for a second time 12 days after the initial entry?

Odin

I don't know what your nationality is but if you are American you don't need a visa for South Africa AFAIK.

mlgb

I really can only answer for how my passport was stamped for South Africa. I got stamped in and out but it wasn't on adjoining pages. They didn't even use a blank page for the in stamp but did use a new page for the exit stamp.
I would not go by what's on the State Department website which is confusing. (You don't need a visa as a US citizen). So based on my experience you only would need two blank pages for South Africa, one for each exit, plus space on two partially full pages.

SA on their own website says

Requirements for entering South Africa

You will need the following if you wish to visit South Africa:

• A valid and acceptable passport or travel document for your intended stay
• At least one blank page in your passport for endorsements
• A valid visa, if required
• Sufficient funds to pay for your day-to-day expenses during your stay
• A return or onward ticket
• Yellow fever certificates if your journey starts or entails passing through the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America.

Zimbabwe is a little more complicated. I considered going but in the end decided to stick with South Africa. There is apparently a new evisa portal for Zimbabwe now but not sure if you can use it at this late date. If you are going to the Zambia side you may need a double entry visa. My friends who went to Vic Falls last month said they couldn't see the falls, there was too much water, just mist etc. They did enjoy their cruise on the Zambezi.

You can often find good information on the various Zimbabwe hotel/tour agency websites. Or you can call their embassy. Or your travel agent, if you used one.

https://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/zimbabwe-visa.html

Heimdall

Bejamie, I have been to South Africa twice in the last 18 months, and both sets of entry and exit stamps were put on the same page in my US passport. If you are staying overnight in Joburg you will go through passport control to enter the country. When you leave you go through passport control again, and you will have to do that a second time when you return from Zimbabwe.

If you are planning to go to both Zimbabwe and Zambia you can get a UniVisa:
https://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/...we-zambia.html