Central Africa · 0.34° N · 6.73° E
São Tomé and Príncipe grants an online entry authorisation, e-VisaST, which is free to request; the visa, for a single stay of up to 30 days, is then stamped at São Tomé airport against EUR 20. Citizens of the EU, CPLP countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and several other countries need no visa for short stays of up to 15 days.
Verified on smf.st · October 21, 2026
No official filing window is published. Apply at least 7 working days before arrival, the response time announced by the SMF, and ideally 2 to 3 weeks ahead so that a late answer never overlaps your departure.
With an American passport you can enter to São Tomé and Príncipe without a visa and stay up to 15 days. Check the passport and entry rules below before you fly.
The e-VisaST is run by the Serviço de Migração e Fronteiras (SMF) on smf.st, in Portuguese and English. You choose a visa type (tourist, business, transit or temporary), fill in the form and confirm with 'Terminar'; nothing can be modified afterwards. The approval, an entry authorisation (Autorização de Entrada), is posted on the SMF status page rather than emailed, and is presented at São Tomé International Airport, where the officer stamps a single-entry visa for a stay of up to 30 days against EUR 20, payable in euros, US dollars or dobras. Plan to pay in cash, as card payment cannot be relied on. Citing Decree-Law 11/2009 (article 20), the portal announces an answer within 7 working days, and replies often come sooner.
Small capital on Ana Chaves Bay, with colonial architecture, the cathedral and the São Sebastião fort and museum.
Quiet capital of Príncipe island, a UNESCO biosphere reserve known for forests, beaches and cocoa estates.
Small fishing town on the south-east coast, known for its restored cocoa estate and seafood cuisine.
Photo credits: São Tomé — wsrolim, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Santo António — Yellowcarpenter, CC BY-SA 4.0 · São João dos Angolares — Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0
From scan to payment in under 60 seconds.
Scan your passport
Point your phone at the photo page or upload it. We read it in seconds — nothing to type.
See the full price, then pay
Service fee and government fee are shown before you pay. No account needed, just your email.
Answer what’s left
Only the official questions your passport did not answer. Saved as you go; finishing them is what lets us file.
Track it to your inbox
We file on the official portal, follow up with the authority and send you the approved document.
Carry a printed copy of your authorisation
The form accepts only one file, under 2 MB, which must contain the passport scan, the return ticket and the hotel booking. A file that is too heavy is refused, and a file missing the return ticket fails the mandatory check.
What we checkWe merge the passport page, the return ticket and the hotel confirmation into one PDF under 2 MB, adding the birth certificate and guardians' declaration for a minor, and check that each page is legible after compression.
The SMF asks for data that matches the passport exactly, and the request cannot be modified after 'Terminar'. A missing middle name or a swapped date is carried into the entry authorisation shown at the airport.
What we checkWe copy names, dates and passport number from the machine-readable lines and review the summary screen line by line before confirming.
The SMF asks where and with whom you will stay and, for a hotel, the booking number, who made the booking and who it is for. A request without a traceable address in São Tomé and Príncipe gives the officer nothing to check.
What we checkWe enter the full address, the booking number, the person who booked and the guest's name in the final details field, and include the hotel confirmation in the single PDF.
For applicants under 18, the upload must also include the digitised birth certificate and a declaration from the legal guardians.
What we checkWe add both documents to the child's single PDF and check the declaration is signed by the guardians named on the birth certificate.
Real situations our agents handle, and what to do.
The requirements above are for an American passport. For another passport, change it in the price column or see the list.
56 passports enter São Tomé and Príncipe without a visa, for stays of 15 to 90 days. Nothing has to be filed before the flight to São Tomé and Príncipe: the passport is stamped at the border. What trips people up: São Tomé and Príncipe wants the passport valid 6 more months after the departure date.
142 passports need the e-visa for São Tomé and Príncipe, filed online before departure. The authorities of São Tomé and Príncipe take up to 7 business days to decide. Apply at least 7 days before flying to São Tomé and Príncipe: the airline checks the e-visa at boarding.
Visaska is a private company, unaffiliated with any government. You can apply directly with the authorities at www.smf.st/evisa/index.php.
Nothing to do
Up to 15 days without a visa