The following argument in the department of home affairs’ white paper on immigration just about sums it up:
“South Africa is today a great place to live in and many people in the world aspire to live in, work in or be citizens of South Africa. In the result, many foreign nationals come to South Africa and stay in the country illegally. No one can account for all undocumented migrants. The department of home affairs has no idea as to how many illegal immigrants are in South Africa.
It says that Africa Check â€` the organisation that sorts facts from fiction and combats disinformation â€` has “come across claims of 5 million, 6 million and even 13 million migrants” in South Africa. Quite wild claims, as anyone can tell.
The bottom line here is that we just do not know. The best the authorities and experts have had to work with are estimates.
According to the Migration Data Portal, an estimated 2.9 million migrants resided in South Africa at mid-year 2020 (ibid), the most industrialised economy in the region and a particularly attractive destination for those in search of education and better opportunities.
The white paper could not have come at a better time as immigration is set to be a hot potato in the election campaign that is already underway, even before a date for the poll is set. Many political parties have latched on to this subject, spewing populist rhetoric and suggesting unsound, unworkable solutions.
Just last week Patriotic Alliance president Gayton McKenzie led a bunch of his goons on a mission to stop Zimbabweans from crossing the Limpopo River into South Africa.
Recklessly xenophobic South African opposition Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie and members of his right-wing party took their anti-immigrants vigilantism to the Limpopo River in Beitbridge bordering South Africa and Zimbabwe in a bid to prevent undocumented people
They succeeded in getting social media attention for their fool’s errand, something that was obviously the sole intention of the exercise. The PA and some other formations have proposed the wholesale deportation of “illegal immigrants” and even have this as a key election promise.
How exactly they intend to hunt down and transport millions of people to various countries around the continent and beyond defies comprehension. Even now, home affairs says it only manages to deport between 15 000 and 20 000 illegal immigrants annually.
The department, for its part, has been involved in a futile bid to end the Zimbabwe exemption permit scheme that allowed people who had fled that country during the economic and social meltdown to regularise their stay in South Africa.
This would have meant that 178 000 people would suddenly have had to uproot and return to a country that is still in the dire straits it was in when they left. With 15 to 20

years in South Africa, these people now have roots here.
There are children who have grown up as loyal supporters of Orlando Pirates and removing them from the country where this great football club resides would severely traumatise them.
They would lose out on the education system that has nurtured their minds. Their parents have homes and jobs that sustain extended families in their blighted home country. Simply put, that mass deportation would be an act of immense cruelty.
And it would target these documented and law-abiding immigrants and leave millions of others who are an unknown quantity to roam free.
This white paper has now put this divisive issue in the formal debate space. It has created space for us to discuss immigration, residency and the route to citizenship in a rational manner.
That by no means guarantees that the inputs will be well reasoned, but at least it is not a space that is clumsy and uncontrolled, as with the vigilantism and populism that has defined South Africans’ recent responses to the immigration crisis.
As Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi points out in his introductory remarks to the white paper:
the policy and legislative gaps within the department of home affairs have created fertile ground for violent clashes between foreign nationals and citizens, including belligerent groups siding either with or against the current migration system.
The public participation process should be more than about consolidating three disparate and antiquated pieces of legislation into one that meets the needs of modern-day, democratic South Africa.
Our immigration system has failed us in the past and left us saddled with huge numbers of undocumented people. That, in itself, is a security threat. It is also burdensome to institutions that provide services and to those who plan human settlements and infrastructure.
But thinking you can wish away the immigrants (legal and illegal, asylum seekers and economic refugees) is a fantasy.
We have to accept that the vast majority of economic refugees and asylum seekers are here to stay and try to document and accommodate them in our hierarchies of citizenship and residence.
We also have to accept that, inasmuch as we can try to seal our borders, they can never be 100% foolproof.
People will always slip in illegally, especially as long as South Africa remains an El Dorado for many in Africa and Asia. And once they are here, they will make this their permanent home. Trying to bus, rail or fly them out is a waste of resources.
Our focus should be to make them productive and documented residents of this country. It is all about an attitude change. V.5167

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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