South Sudan

Visa requirements

Visas are issued for US$100 at all border crossings and Juba International Airport. The length of the visas issued seems to vary randomly between 1 and 6 months. An invitation letter may be required depending on which official is at the desk on your day of arrival. The process can take 3 hours. If you do not have a local contact with official connections, it would be safer to get a visa before arriving in the country. Visas are now available from the embassy in London for UK₤50 cash and typically take 5 working days to process. The embassy in Nairobi is also a popular p…

The currency of the country is the South Sudanese pound (ISO currency code: SSP). The official rate or "bank exchange rate" (above) is what you would see on sites like Oanda and mataf.net. You can exchange your money by paying in US dollars at supermarkets like Juba Mall, Lily's, and Phoenicia. They will ask you if you want your change to be in USD or SSP. There are also money changers that line some streets with stacks of SSPs but be wary of them. As of Jan 2026, the black market rate for US dollars is SSP 5,800.

By car

Roads are unpaved, and during the rainy season from July to October and November, they often become impassable. Infrastructure is non-existent,

English and Arabic (Juba Arabic) are the official languages of South Sudan, although Dinka is the most widely spoken language. Jur Modo, Nuer, Chollo/Shilluk, and Zande languages are also spoken there.

Although the level of violence has subsided since the establishment of the country and the end of the civil war, South Sudan remains dangerous for travel as ceasefire violations and boundary disputes have continued. Guns are freely and readily available to the populace, and it is not uncommon to hear gunshots being fired in broad daylight. Travel near the Sudan or Central African Republic borders is extremely dangerous. Western governments continue to advise against all travel to South Sudan and the adjacent regions in Sudan. Violent crime remains problematic; unexploded ordnance from years of…

It's a malarial area, so before arriving, visit a tropical vaccination center to get prophylactic treatment and the necessary vaccines, including yellow fever, polio and hepatitis A and B. Be sure to sleep under a mosquito net and use mosquito repellent. Most of the South Sudanese drink water from the rivers, which exposes them to diarrhea and cholera. If bottled water is not available, boil/chlorinate the river water before drinking it.

Telephone country code for South Sudan is +211, previous to 2011 it used the Sudan country code +249 so some numbers printed may need to be corrected. Local numbers are a 7 digit number preceded by a 2 digit provider code, those starting with a 1 are fixed line those with 9 mobile.

Connect

Telephone country code for South Sudan is +211, previous to 2011 it used the Sudan country code +249 so some numbers printed may need to be corrected. Local numbers are a 7 digit number preceded by a 2 digit provider code, those starting with a 1 are fixed line those with 9 mobile.