South Africa

The National Register for Sex Offenders is kept by the Department of Justice under the Sexual Offences Act 32 of 2007. It is confidential. Employers and care authorities check names against it, and the law says foreign convictions and foreign registrations must be entered. Anyone convicted anywhere of genocide, terrorism, human smuggling, trafficking in persons, murder, torture, drug-related charges, money laundering or kidnapping is a prohibited person (Immigration Act s. 29(1)(b)). Anyone with a previous conviction without the option of a fine may be declared undesirable (s. 30(1)(g)).

Full profile · Last verified: October 27, 2026 · All countries

Each statement is labelled Law (statute, regulation or court ruling), Policy (official guidance) or Reported practice (what officials report doing). Items marked Recheck could not be fully confirmed from a primary source.

The country's own registry

Law The Minister of Justice must keep a National Register for Sex Offenders. It holds the particulars of people convicted of a sexual offence, whether the offence was committed in or outside the Republic (Sexual Offences Act 32 of 2007, s. 42(1)).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice)
Law The register is not public. The Registrar and staff may disclose information only to give effect to Chapter 6 or when a court requires it (s. 52). Certificates may be requested by employers, licensing authorities, foster-care and adoption authorities, and by people about their own particulars (s. 44). Since 2022 any person with an interest may ask whether a named person is on the register, if disclosure is in the interest of an identifiable vulnerable person (s. 42(4)-(5)).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice); Department of Justice and Constitutional Development: National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO)
Law The particulars of a person convicted abroad of an offence equivalent to a sexual offence, or listed on an official register in a foreign jurisdiction, must be included in the register (s. 50(1)(b)). Where the conviction was abroad, the register holds the equivalent information obtained from that country or another legal source (s. 49(c)).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice)
Law A registered person must notify the Registrar of any change of name, address or other recorded details within 14 days. Wilful failure is an offence carrying up to seven years' imprisonment (s. 50(8)).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice)
Reported practice The Department of Justice's NRSO page links Newzroom Afrika reports from February and March 2025. In them the Justice Minister said the register would be released first to schools and other institutions dealing with children, and that release was then delayed.
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development: National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO)
Recheck: Reported through linked news items, not an official notice; confirm whether any release beyond the s. 44 certificate process has taken place.

Entry and admissibility

Law Prohibited persons do not qualify for a port of entry visa, admission, a visa or permanent residence. They include anyone against whom a warrant is outstanding, or a conviction has been secured in South Africa or a foreign country, for genocide, terrorism, human smuggling, trafficking in persons, murder, torture, drug-related charges, money laundering or kidnapping (Immigration Act s. 29(1)(b)). Sexual offences are not listed by name.
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs)
Law The Director-General may declare undesirable anyone with previous criminal convictions without the option of a fine, for conduct that would be an offence in South Africa, with the exclusion of certain prescribed offences (s. 30(1)(g)). Once declared, the person does not qualify for a visa, admission or permanent residence. No list of excluded offences was found in the 2014 Regulations.
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs); Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law At the port of entry a traveller must satisfy the immigration officer that he or she is not a prohibited person and, if previously declared undesirable, has complied with s. 30(2) (Immigration Regulations reg. 6(3)(a)).
Source: Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law Prohibited persons also include anyone previously deported and not rehabilitated by the Director-General, and anyone found with a fraudulent visa, passport, permit or identity document (s. 29(1)(c), (f)).
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs)
Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No official report of South Africa refusing entry to U.S. registrants was found.

Visa / travel authorisation

Policy Holders of ordinary U.S. passports are exempt from port of entry visa requirements for visits of up to 90 days.
Source: Department of Home Affairs: Exempt Countries (visa exemption list issued 9 December 2025)
Recheck: Visa exemption periods are set by DHA notice; confirm the current list before travel.
Policy Home Affairs says a person whose individual visa exemption has been officially withdrawn must apply for a port of entry visa at a South African mission, even if their nationality is otherwise exempt.
Source: Department of Home Affairs: Exempt Countries (visa exemption list issued 9 December 2025)
Policy The Electronic Travel Authorisation was launched on 12 August 2026 at OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria airports. The Minister said it will become compulsory for nationals who need a port of entry visa, and will be voluntary for visa-exempt travellers who want the faster queue or an extension of stay.
Source: Minister Leon Schreiber: Launch of South Africa's Electronic Travel Authorisation, 12 August 2026 (gov.za)
Recheck: The ETA is being rolled out in phases; confirm whether it has become required for U.S. travellers and whether its questions cover criminal history.
Law The temporary visa application form (Form 8, DHA-1738) and the port of entry visa form (Form 11, DHA-84) ask whether the applicant has ever been convicted of any crime in any country, and whether a criminal case is pending.
Source: Immigration Regulations, 2014, as amended to 1 December 2018, with Annexure A forms (Department of Home Affairs)
Recheck: Forms are from the DHA consolidation to 2018; confirm the current versions.
Law A visitor's visa for more than three months must be supported by a police clearance certificate (reg. 11(2)).
Source: Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)

Registration or reporting after arrival

Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No rule requiring a visiting foreign sex offender to report to police or the Registrar on arrival was found. The Act requires foreign convictions to be entered in the register (s. 50(1)(b)) but does not set out how a visitor's particulars are obtained.
Law Hotels, guest houses, lodges, boarding houses and apartment buildings must keep a register of lodgers. It records each guest's name, passport or ID copy, residence status and normal address, and police or immigration officers may inspect it (Immigration Act s. 40; reg. 36).
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs); Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)

Residency, employment and housing

Law Applications for general, critical skills and intra-company transfer work visas, study visas, retired person visas and permanent residence must include a police clearance certificate (regs. 12(1)(d), 18(1)(b), 19(1), 23(2)(e)).
Source: Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law A police clearance certificate must come from each country where the applicant lived for 12 months or longer after age 18 during the five years before the application. It may be no more than six months old (reg. 1).
Source: Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law A person whose particulars are on the register may not work with a vulnerable person, hold a position of authority or care over one, be licensed to run a care business, or become a foster parent, adoptive parent or curator (Sexual Offences Act s. 41). Vulnerable persons include children, people with disabilities, people aged 60 or over in care, and women under 25 in higher education or residences (s. 40).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice)
Law Employers placing staff with vulnerable persons must check the register before hiring. A job applicant on the register must disclose the conviction, and failing to disclose is an offence carrying up to seven years (ss. 45, 46).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice); Department of Justice and Constitutional Development: National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO)

Removal, rehabilitation or waivers

Law Any illegal foreigner must depart and shall be deported (Immigration Act s. 32). An immigration officer may arrest without a warrant and detain pending deportation for up to 30 days, extendable by a court to no more than 90 days (s. 34(1)).
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs)
Law The Director-General may withdraw a permanent residence permit if the holder is convicted of an offence in Schedule 1 or 2 (s. 28(a)). Schedule 1 includes rape, sexual assault and sexual offences against children. Schedule 2 includes any offence punishable by more than six months' imprisonment without the option of a fine.
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs)
Law The Director-General may, for good cause, declare a person not to be a prohibited person (s. 29(2)). The Regulations require the decision to weigh the reasons for the prohibition, the seriousness of the offence, and the person's representations, which should include a police clearance certificate (reg. 26(6)).
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs); Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law On the affected person's application, the Minister may, for good cause, waive any ground of undesirability (s. 30(2)). The Regulations set fixed periods only for overstayers: 12 months, two years or five years (reg. 27(3)). No period was found for undesirability on criminal grounds.
Source: Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated as from 26 May 2014 (Department of Home Affairs); Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law A previously deported person may be rehabilitated after at least four years' absence, an affidavit undertaking to comply with the Act, and a police clearance certificate (reg. 26(4)).
Source: Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 of 2014), legislation as at 20 May 2024 (LawLibrary)
Law Register entries for sentences of up to 18 months may be removed on application after 10, 14 or 20 years, depending on the sentence. Entries for sentences over 18 months, or for two or more sexual-offence convictions, may never be removed (Sexual Offences Act s. 51).
Source: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, consolidated, Chapter 6 (Department of Justice)

What U.S. rules still apply

Law U.S. law still applies to the trip itself: registrants must report international travel at least 21 days in advance, and the U.S. may notify the destination country before arrival. See the U.S. travel guide for the notice rule, the passport identifier and how notifications work.
Source: ComplianceAtlas: Traveling Abroad as a U.S. Registrant

Read Traveling Abroad as a U.S. Registrant before booking.

Sources

Legal Disclaimer

International laws, immigration policies, and registry requirements change frequently and may vary depending on citizenship, visa type, offense history, and purpose of travel. Entry decisions are made solely by each country's immigration authorities. Always verify current requirements using official government sources before traveling. This page is not legal advice.