SA keeping refugees out
23 March, 2016 – Times Live

South Africa rejects more refugee applications than any other country.
According to an analysis of UN High Commissioner for Refugees data
conducted by Code4SA's Data Journalism Academy, in 2014 and the first
half of 2015, the Department of Home Affairs turned down 81% of
refugee applications, compared with the international average of 21%.
In that period, more than 150,000 people from 24 countries sought
asylum in South Africa, making it the third most popular destination
for refugees.
This was at a time when Europe received one of its largest influxes of
refugees from the Middle East.
The UNHCR data revealed that, with nearly 800,000 cases, South Africa
had more than a third of the world's pending refugee applications. A
backlog in processing applications has created a crisis.
Roni Amit, of the African Centre for Migration and Society at Wits
University, whose research in 2012 showed only about half of refugee
applicants were economic migrants, suggested the government was
conflating immigrants with refugees to keep people out.
"The rejection rate is so high because they use it as a migration
management method to keep people out. They see all refugees as
economic migrants.
"Part of the

problem is the demand on the system, and Home Affairs
didn't increase its capacity because it wanted to decrease demand,"
she said.
Home Affairs spokesman Mayi-hlome Tshwete said the department believed
fraudulent claims by economic migrants were the cause of the backlog.
They made "deliberate attempts to abuse the system" by applying for
refugee status when not warranted.
Home Affairs rejected 96% of refugee applications last year, according
to a report presented to parliament on March 8. It said by the end of
the first quarter of last year, 2406 people had been granted asylum.
For the rest of the year, only 93 applications were accepted.
At the heart of the problem was the failure to have qualified and
trained refugee status determination officers, said attorney William
Kerfoot, of the Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town.
"Under-educated, incompetent refugee status determination officers
view each application as fraudulent and therefore as mani-festly
unfounded," Kerfoot said.
Tshwete admitted a capacity problem but said there were deliberate
attempts to abuse weaknesses. "People are seeing that the easiest way
into South Africa is as an asylum seeker," he said. V.1596

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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