Every traveller must nowsubmit a declaration to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) when leaving and entering South Africa. The rule covers South African citizens, permanent residents, and foreign visitors at all air, land, sea, and rail borders. The only exemption is for air and sea passengers in transit who do not leave the transit area or the aircraft or vessel on which they arrived.

Every traveller must provide their passport details, date of birth, the address where they will stay, a cellphone number, an email address, and their occupation. They must give the reason for travel, their route, their transport details, and the passport numbers of travelling companions.

They must answer a set of yes-or-no questions about whether they are carrying goods that need customs attention, such as goods above the duty-free allowance, goods for trade or business, prohibited or restricted items, samples, and goods being brought in or taken out temporarily, and declare any cash, or financial documents that can be exchanged for cash by whoever holds them, such as traveller's cheques or money orders, above the legal threshold, which SARS has set at R100 000. Personal effects such as clothing, toiletries, medicine, phones, and jewellery for own use do not have to be declared.

A traveller carrying nothing declarable still has to complete the yes-or-no section. Only travellers who disclose something must complete a second, detailed part of the form, which covers vehicles, trailers, temporary imports and exports, samples, goods for repair, and currency ownership. For currency, this includes the source of the funds, how they were obtained, and who owns them.

The declaration must be submitted no more than 24 hours before departure. For journeys with stopovers, the window runs from the final leg to South Africa. If any submitted information changes before the traveller reaches customs, the declaration must be updated. After submission, SARS sends a confirmation with instructions to keep on hand and follow at the port.

A tourism expert told The Common Sense that “this kind of bureaucratic friction does make a destination less competitive from a tourist perspective and South Africa already has disadvantages due to it being so far from the major tourist markets of Europe, North America, and Asia”.

Crossing at an unofficial border point now requires advance permission. Anyone wanting to enter or leave at a place without a customs post must apply through the declaration system first, and SARS will either permit the crossing or direct the traveller to the nearest official port. Where SARS has no presence at such a crossing, the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, or police officers act on its behalf.

Train travellers who did not declare before boarding must do so at the first station after entering the country, or the last station before leaving it.

The declaration is done online. It can be completed on the SARS website, on the SARS traveller app, or by scanning a QR code on any device with an internet connection. Some ports have self-service kiosks. Paper forms are allowed only where the SARS system has failed, where the port has no internet, or where a traveller cannot reasonably declare electronically. The online system has existed since 2022, but its use was voluntary. It is now compulsory.

Any duties and tax owed can be paid in advance by electronic fund transfer (EFT), or at the port by cash in rand, EFT, or card where terminals exist. Travellers are entitled to proof of payment.

SARS has said no traveller will be denied entry or departure solely for failing to declare in advance, and that officers and terminals at the ports will assist those who arrive without having filed. Failure to declare goods, or the submission of false information, can lead to penalties, forfeiture of goods, and prosecution.

SARS has said the declarations will be shared with the Financial Intelligence Centre. The state will now hold a detailed record of every international trip before it happens.