Deputy Home Affairs Minister Fatima Chohan explains the automated
booking system and the process followed by asylum seekers. In the
background is the waiting area for the Refugee Status Determination
Officer. Picture: Valerie Boje
HOW many of the people who visit the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception
Centre in Pretoria are refugees?
This is one of the questions the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs,
Fatima Chohan, was keen to address as attention focused on refugees
with this week’s World Refugee Day.
During a comprehensive briefing to editors, as well as an after-hours
visit to the Desmond Tutu centre, she explained the difference between
asylum seekers who have fled their country and want protection as
refugees, and ordinary migrants seeking a better life in South Africa.
Refugees, like those anywhere else in the world, have a “well-founded
fear of persecution in their country”, and seek the safety and
protection living elsewhere can provide. This fear can be for any
number of reasons - including nationality, religion, sexual
orientation and, of course, war.
The countries internationally that have produced the largest numbers
of refugees are Syria - with 6.6million Syrians internally displaced
and 5.6million outside the country - followed by Afghanistan and South
Sudan, countries that have experienced extended periods of war.
In Africa the country that has produced the largest number of refugees
is the DRC with more than 4million Congolese internally displaced, and
about 740000 seeking refuge across Africa.
Last year, 4849 Congolese applied to live in South Africa,
representing the largest group of asylum seekers to this country.
Many of the other clients, as Home Affairs calls those visiting its
centres daily, come from non-refugee producing countries with the
largest number coming from Zimbabwe. These migrants have, over many
years, been driven by economic imperative, and therefore the same
conditions do not apply as to asylum seekers.
Aside from locality, one of the reasons South Africa is attractive to
migrants is its liberal policies: for example it has no reservations -
such as those imposed by neighbours in the region - in terms of
freedom of movement, and it makes available basic services such as
health and education to migrants.
Some of those who arrive in the country do so officially on a visa,
while others slip in illegally and hope not to be caught. An asylum
seeker is issued with a permit and is expected to travel to a centre
such as Desmond Tutu in Pretoria to continue with the process.
However, many abandon this then or later and, according to Chohan,
there are currently

946314 abandoned applications on the Home Affairs
system.
Some 70% of the first time applications are received at the Pretoria
centre in Marabastad. It is here where they book an appointment day on
a self-service machine and then follow the process of application,
interview and adjudication, with a review and appeal available if the
application fails.
As part of a clamp-down on corruption, Chohan has instructed Home
Affairs to deal with new applications ahead of those which had been
languishing in the system for years, and the next step is to close
abandoned applications.
She also has limited services at refugee centres in Cape Town and Port
Elizabeth, preferring to centralise new applications at points of
entry and in Pretoria where the system is now biometric, and is
monitored closely to try to prevent corruption.
She walked the media through the process - to show the improved
queuing and security features, but perhaps the most important message
is that the process of applying for refugee status is free.
This comes as the department tries to eliminate touts and others
offering to help newcomers at a fee. It is not possible, she stresses,
to help someone else get the all-important paperwork - applicants must
do so themselves.
The tour also addressed issues raised in the Pretoria News article of
June 12 - titled “Herded like Cattle” - which followed a visit to the
centre in Marabastad by the DA and claims that it was dangerous and
corrupt, and that applicants were treated inhumanely.
It would appear the department has improved security and queuing and
provides what safety and help it can to applicants once they are
inside the turnstiles, but not all who converge outside qualify to
stay in South Africa, either as refugees or migrants, and those
desperate for documentation may be susceptible to unscrupulous people
wanting bribes to “get in the back door”.
In terms of numbers, South Africa has accommodated more than 1million
asylum seekers over a 10 year period. Home Affairs granted refugee
status to 126000 applicants in the past decade, and approved 2267
applications last year, while denying 18894 on the basis that they
were unfounded.
In SA the largest number of migrants are from Zimbabwe, the DRC,
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Somalia, Pakistan and Nigeria. With the
exception of the DRC it is clear that most of those are economic
migrants rather than genuine refugees seeking asylum. V.2292

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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