Home Affairs Changes Asylum Policy, Says Illegal Entry Will No Longer Bar Applicants at Refugee Cent

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs is preparing to change how it handles people who approach refugee reception centres to apply for asylum after entering the country unlawfully. Under the planned approach, officials will no longer reject applicants at the point of entry into the asylum system solely because they crossed into South Africa illegally.

Home Affairs Deputy Director-General for Immigration Services, Mandla Madumisa, discussed the development during an appearance on TheCMShow, where he addressed concerns about asylum applications and the management of undocumented migrants.

Madumisa explained that officials would be required to consider asylum requests rather than automatically turning people away based on how they entered the country. The shift is linked to legal and constitutional requirements governing access to asylum procedures.

South Africa’s refugee system requires asylum seekers to approach designated Refugee Reception Offices, where their applications are registered, screened and assessed. The process is designed to determine whether individuals genuinely require international protection.

However, Madumisa acknowledged that opening access in this manner could increase pressure on an already struggling system. He cautioned that some undocumented foreigners could potentially take advantage of the process by claiming asylum, increasing the number of cases that Home Affairs must handle.

The warning comes amid significant problems within the country’s asylum administration. In May 2026, Home Affairs reported that more than 90,000 inactive refugee appeal cases could no longer be traced, while nearly 71,000 active appeals were still recorded in the system.

Madumisa has previously highlighted persistent challenges involving asylum backlogs, misuse of the system and difficulties in separating genuine refugees from individuals seeking economic opportunities.

The department therefore faces the challenge of protecting access to asylum for people who genuinely need international protection while preventing the process from being used to regularise unlawful stays.

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Khadijah [email protected]