The volcanic spire of Pico Cão Grande, São Tomé

Who needs a visa for Sao Tome and Principe?

Sub-Saharan Africa · São Tomé

Photo: Philippe Bourachot / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Of 198 nationalities, 57 enter Sao Tome and Principe with no paperwork at all. The rest: 1 can get a visa at the border and 140 must be approved before they travel.

Visa free 57
eVisa 140
Visa on arrival 1

We have not found a Sao Tome and Principe government portal we can link to with confidence, so we link to none — a lookalike is worse than nothing. Apply through Sao Tome and Principe's own immigration service or its embassy.

What do you need?

I hold a passport from

Who needs what

Find your nationality

Visa free 57

Nothing to apply for and nothing to pay before you travel.

eVisa (electronic visa) 140

A real visa application, made online instead of at an embassy. It is assessed, it takes days rather than minutes, and it can be refused.

Visa on arrival 1

Issued at the border rather than beforehand. Bring the fee in cash in the currency the border post accepts. It is a permission, not a guarantee.

About Sao Tome and Principe

Region: Middle Africa
Capital: São Tomé
Population: 240,254 2025 · 178th of 197
Size: 964 km² 174th largest of 199
Density: 249 per km²
Language: Portuguese
Currency: São Tomé and Príncipe dobra STN

Capital, area, languages and currency from the open country dataset, pulled 21 September 2026. Population from the World Bank, series updated 13 July 2026. Density is calculated from the two figures above.