The country was recently rocked by nationwide protests, with demonstrators demanding tougher action against undocumented migrants and accusing foreigners of taking jobs, driving crime and putting pressure on public services.
The protests, which included incidents of looting and attacks on foreign-owned businesses, forced thousands of migrants to flee or temporarily shut their businesses.
Against this backdrop, new figures from South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs show that a significant number of foreign nationals in the country have legal immigration status.
According to figures provided by the department in response to a parliamentary question, South Africa has 105,260 foreign nationals holding legitimate immigration permits.
The figures cover permits recorded on the department’s Visa Adjudication System (VAS) from November 24, 2014, to August 24, 2026, providing a snapshot of the nationalities with the largest number of foreign nationals holding legitimate immigration permits in South Africa.
Of the 105,260 permit holders recorded, 56,614 are nationals of African countries, accounting for 53.8% of the total while the remaining are non-Africans.
The figures therefore highlight the significant role of African migration in South Africa’s documented foreign population, even as the country continues to grapple with concerns over undocumented migration and growing public pressure for tighter immigration enforcement.
Zimbabwe dominates the list
The data shows that South Africa’s largest group of foreign nationals with legitimate permits comes from its northern neighbour, Zimbabwe, with 23,218 permit holders.
The DRC ranks second with 7,306, while Nigeria is third with 5,242. Somalia follows with 3,961, while Ethiopia has 1,749.
Other countries in the top 10 include Lesotho, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana and Eswatini.
The figures come as South Africa continues to overhaul its immigration system, with the government moving toward greater digitisation of visa and permit processing.
In August, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched the country’s Electronic Travel Authorisation system, which uses biometric verification and automated risk analysis as part of efforts to make immigration processing more efficient and secure.
The Department of Home Affairs has also been dealing with longstanding visa and permit backlogs. Parliament said in August that the department was making progress in reducing these backlogs, although thousands of appeals remained pending.
