Years after Tebogo Khoza was refused an identity document, a high court judgment has restored his rights and offered hope to millions of other undocumented South Africans.

As a gamekeeper in Limpopo, Tebogo Khoza’s knowledge of the land and its wildlife is key to his livelihood and safety. Tending to buffalo and impala on the reserve where he lives at the foot of the Ysterberg, Khoza feels a sense of belonging that has been denied to him for most of his life.

Last year, at the age of 25, Khoza was finally issued with a birth certificate by the department of home affairs, marking the end of a 10-year battle to be recognised as a South African citizen.

Born at the edge of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, Khoza was about six years old when his HIV-positive mother travelled to Limpopo to seek treatment from a sangoma. When she had not returned after some weeks, he went with his grandmother to the sangoma’s house, only to find that his mother had died.

“I was waiting for my mother to come out of the house,” he recalls. “But she never came.”

Never having known his father, and unwilling to return to Mpumalanga without his mother, Khoza was taken to a children’s home.

“I didn’t have a birth certificate and I didn’t know my birthday. When I was about 13 or 14 years old, we approached home affairs to obtain documentation, but that’s when I found out that my grandmother didn’t have an ID either,” he says.
Legacy of apartheid

It is common for older people to be undocumented, a legacy of apartheid-era policies that made civil and birth registration mandatory only for white South Africans. The consequence is that their descendants often struggle to get identity documents, leaving them stateless.

When the department came to interview Khoza’s family at home to determine their nationality, they arrested his grandmother, aunt and uncle, claiming that they were from eSwatini and should be deported.

“They even took me to the Swazi border but, when we got there, the border guards could tell from my immunisation scars that I was from South Africa,” he recalls.

At the age of 18, Khoza left the children’s home to work at a nearby game reserve but was constantly afraid that, without documents, he would lose his job.

A keen athlete, he was selected to play for a local rugby team but, because he had no ID, he was unable to progress in the rugby league. He continued to train, running up to 10km a day on the red earth road leading to the mining town of Thabazimbi. It helped to keep anxiety at bay in the years when he began to lose hope of ever receiving his documents.

When Khoza met his girlfriend, his stateless status meant their marriage could not be officially certified, and when the couple had a son, Junior, Khoza’s name could not be added to the child’s birth certificate. He felt that, in the eyes of the law, he was invisible.
Case provides hope

Around the world, millions of people are denied a nationality. As a result, they often cannot go to

school; get healthcare and a job; open a bank account; buy a house or get married.

The UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) #IBelong campaign seeks to end statelessness through a global plan made up of 10 actions. As the campaign comes to an end this year, the UNHCR is set to launch the Global Alliance to End Statelessness, a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together governments, UN agencies and regional and civil society organisations, along with organisations led by stateless people, sharing a collective commitment to eradicate statelessness.

Lawyers for Human Rights, a partner organisation of the UNHCR, pursued Khoza’s case and, last year, he was called to a hearing at Pretoria’s high court. The judge declared that the home affairs department had shown itself to be “inflexible” and “oppositional” in its refusal to assist Khoza and ruled that he should be given a birth certificate and citizenship.

The judgment provides clarity for the first time in South African law on the standard of proof to be applied in statelessness cases. The court adopted the UNHCR’s recommendation that the burden of proof in determining whether an individual is entitled to legal identity and citizenship should be shared between the applicant and the decision-maker and that a low standard of proof should be applied because stateless people lack supporting documentation.

Khoza hopes that his case will provide hope for others in South Africa, where, according to the World Bank, it is estimated that up to 15.3 million people are undocumented.

To address the legacy of apartheid-era policies, the department has introduced a process whereby births can still be registered some years afterwards. Richard Sikakane, the department’s deputy director of travel documents and citizenship, says the department “has been working towards increasing birth registration for its citizens and updating guidance to ensure that vulnerable people do not fall through the cracks”.

Khoza says, “When I got my ID, I knew my life was going to be okay.” However, the decision left him with mixed emotions. “I definitely felt happy but I was angry at the same time. I have lost many things from the years without an ID. I felt that I could have had a different kind of life. But at least now doors are open to me.”

Khoza and his girlfriend have plans to marry and add his name to their son’s birth certificate.

“Because of my experience, I know the importance of having both parents on a birth certificate. I don’t want my son to grow up like I did and have to fight to prove he exists,” says Khoza.

Just like his father, six-year-old Junior is a fast runner and hopes one day to play rugby for the Springboks. For the first time in at least three generations, he will not be held back by lacking a nationality. V.5275

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.

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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.

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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.

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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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