Although South Africa has one of the most progressive asylum laws and exceptional refugee protection frameworks in the world, the disunion between law and practice has allowed the blatant disregard of the law to thrive. The safety and security of the refugees who come to South Africa in the hopes of escaping the injustices of their homeland is internationally regulated by The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR, 1948”) which is the foundation of international human rights, and, more directly, by the 1951 Refugee Convention (1951 convention) and its 1967 Protocol.
In South Africa, The Refugee Act 130 of 1998 (“The Refugee Act”) was enacted to give effect to the 1951 convention, while some rights enshrined in our Bill of Rights, such as the right to equality, human dignity and just administrative action are afforded to all persons within South Africa
Applying for Asylum
When refugees legally cross the border, they must seek asylum from Department of Home Affairs (DOH) officials at the border who will then issue them with an asylum transit visa that will allow them 14 days to report to the Refugee Reception Office (RRO). If a refugee enters the country illegally, they must immediately report to the RRO. Once at the RRO, the first step is for the refugee to apply for an asylum seeker permit (section 22 permit) which requires that the refugee applicant (“the applicant”) must fill in the application form and be interviewed by the refugee reception officer before having their biodata and photos captured. Once this is done, the applicant will be issued with a section 22 permit (Asylum Seeker Temporary Visa) which is valid for six months.
Before the section 22 permit expires, the refugee is expected to return to the RRO for a second interview with the Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO). After this interview the RSDO must issue a written decision to either grant the applicant refugee status or reject the application as unfounded or manifestly unfounded, abusive or fraudulent.
The RSDO Rejection
The RSDO is obligated to provide the applicant with a written decision that sets out the reasons for rejecting the application. If the application is rejected as “unfounded” (section 24(3)(c) of The Refugee Act) it may be because the applicant’s reason for leaving their country is in line with the Refugee Act and therefore affording them refugee status, but the RSDO needs further motivation. In such a case the applicant is afforded an opportunity to appeal the decision within 30 days. If the application is rejected as “manifestly unfounded, abusive or fraudulent” (Section 24(3) (b) of The Refugee Act) it may be because the refugee mentioned a reason for applying for asylum that is not recognised in The Refugee Act. This rejection is automatically referred to the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs (SCRA) within 10 working days to either confirm, set aside or refer it back to the RSDO for reassessment. Additionally, if the applicant’s application is rejected as manifestly unfounded, the applicant is entitled to be furnished with written reasons within 5 working days from date of rejection by the RSDO or referral to the SCRA.
The “manifestly unfounded” procedural flaw
It is a common occurrence that applicants are not fully informed, if at all, about the asylum application procedure. They are unaware of the fact that even after the RSDO has formally

rejected their application on the basis that it was manifestly unfounded, the RSDO is obligated to renew the applicant’s temporary asylum seeker permit until the SCRA has reviewed the decision.
In some recent cases, clients have come into the refugee clinic at ProBono.Org seeking assistance after being furnished with a letter from both the RSDO and the SCRA that informs the clients of their decision to reject their application on the basis that it was manifestly unfounded. The letter does not set out the reasons for that decision and further expresses an expectation for the applicant to appear within 14 days for the purpose of deportation because they are now considered to be staying in the country illegally. The RRO does this with a blatant disregard of the fact that it has taken the SCRA years to review the decision by the RSDO and in some cases that the RSDO do not even furnish the applicants with the said decision and reasons before furnishing them with a letter for their deportation. They fail to consider that due to their delay, most of the applicants have already started building a life for themselves in the country with them securing jobs and their children having have started school. Furthermore, the RSDO and the SCRA neglect to inform the applicants of their right to apply to the High Court for a judicial review within 180 days after the date that they received such a rejection.
Conclusion
A refugee, like any citizen of South Africa, is acknowledged by the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights. This therefore creates an expectation and an obligation on the Department of Home Affairs to ensure a procedural and substantial fairness in how they process each asylum application. This entails providing the applicant with the necessary information so that they can follow all the laws and rules that regulate their application and their stay in South Africa. Every applicant has a right to be furnished with the reasons why their application was rejected, to have the decision made by the RSDO over their application sent to the SCRA for review within 10 working days and the right to apply to the High Court within 180 days for a judicial review of their manifestly unfounded rejection on their application for refugee status..
Asylum Seekers & Refugees Good News !!
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The Constitutional Court handed down a judgement in the Ahmed matter as well as a Court Order opening the door for Asylum Seekers and Refugees to apply to change their status to temporary residence visa . Contact us now before this fantastic opportunity is lost .
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www.samigration.com V.5090

In recent years, South Africa has seen a significant influx of immigrants from various African countries, as well as other parts of the world. This has raised important questions about the country`s immigration policies and their impact on job creation for both locals and immigrants. The South African immigration system, like many other countries, is a complex and ever-evolving process that aims to balance the country`s economic needs with its social and cultural interests. Let`s take a closer look at how this system intersects with job creation in South Africa. The South African government implemented the Immigration Act of 2002, which outlines the country`s immigration policies and procedures. Under this act, foreigners are required to obtain a visa or permit to enter, work, or study in South Africa. The type of visa or permit required depends on the intended purpose of the individual`s visit and their country of origin. V.5312
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Due to system downtime and load-shedding, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lost nearly 141,000 hours of Smart ID application and production time between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed this figure in a recent response to questions raised in Parliament by Democratic Alliance MP Adrian Roos. Motsoaledi provided a breakdown of smart ID production and application hours lost to technical difficulties and load-shedding per province for each financial year from 2019/2020. These disruptions hit home Affairs offices in the Eastern Cape the hardest, with over 34,000 hours to rotational power cuts and system downtime. Mpumalanga offices lost the next-highest number of hours at 17 V.5313
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Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has said the public has shown great support for the final White Paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection which appeared in the Government Gazette on Wednesday. Briefing the media, he addressed what he saw as a long-overdue need to replace an outdated Citizenship Act, as well as enact proposed changes to existing legislation. V.5306
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Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s indifference to the plight of those affected by his decisions is appalling In the tumultuous seas of immigration law, where uncertainty looms and families are left adrift in bureaucratic limbo, the department of home affairs has emerged as a sinking ship. As a director of a firm of immigration attorneys I’ve witnessed first-hand the dire consequences of the department’s negligence and incompetence. Today, I raise my voice not just as an attorney but as a concerned citizen, urging for a radical overhaul to salvage what remains of our immigration system. We have tirelessly fought battles in the courtroom against home affairs’ disregard for agreed-upon time frames. Countless cases have landed on our desks, each one a testament to the systemic failures plaguing the department. We’ve seen cases where contempt applications were the only recourse, as the department brazenly ignored court orders. V.5307
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Document proposes overhauling the Citizenship Act, the Refugees Act and the Immigration Act and a review of the international treaty on refugee protection Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the cabinet has approved a white paper overhauling the country’s immigration laws after “robust engagements” that resulted in “wide support” of the document’s policy positions. V.5308
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The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications. The lost hours are largely due to system downtime, surpassing load-shedding. In the 2022/2023 financial year, where we experienced extensive load-shedding, system downtime was the cause of 41 691 hours lost (17 years), whereas load-shedding caused around 9 322 hours lost (4 years) at DHA civic offices on the production of smart IDs. V.5309
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JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi said that while the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection had been gazetted, there were amendments that needed to be made to the legislation before it could be passed into law. The White Paper is proposing an overhaul of the country`s migration laws, with the aim of tightening rules around allowing migrants into the country. V.5310
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Highly skilled professionals are leaving South Africa to move to other countries, while the local economy faces a skills shortage. Data from The Outlier revealed that there were just over 900,000 South Africans living abroad in 2020. This number has increased steadily over the past 20 years, from 500,000 in 2000, according to Stats SA’s Migration Profile Report for South Africa 2023. Of these 900,000 people, 7 out of 10 are living in either Europe or Oceania. In particular, Australia and New Zealand have seen a large growth in South African residents. In 2020, around 273,000 South Africans were living in those two countries, more than double the 106,000 who lived there in 2000. The UK remains still the top destination for South Africans who leave the country. V.5311
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The Department of Home Affairs is going through a torrid time. As The South African reported earlier this year, naturalised South Africans are being refused smart ID cards. This is despite having the same constitutional rights as every other South African citizen. Now, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has decided to clarify the reasons behind lengthy delays for spousal visas.Business Tech reports that some spousal (and relatives) visas are taking up to two years to process. The minister of Home Affairs says this is because documentation and claims need to be verified. Replying to a parliamentary Q&A session, the minister says the issue is being addressed by the Home Affairs ‘Backlog Eradication Plan’. V.5305
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Border Management Authority SA commissioner Mike Masiapato on Sunday revealed that over a 10-day period during Easter nearly 4,000 people were intercepted attempting to enter the country illegally.Addressing a media briefing, Masiapato said 2,403 of those intercepted did not have any documents at all. Another 1,019 individuals were refused entry for being undesirable and 419 were found inadmissible to enter the country due to various reasons.“The majority of those arrested without documents were intercepted at the vulnerable segments of the borderline. They were processed, declared undesirable for five years, and were deported. Most of the inadmissible individuals were found with invalid passports, fraudulent visas or just failed to produce relevant documents such as valid yellow fever certificates, especially those travelling from yellow fever endemic countries,” Masiapato said. V.5303
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