"Not Surprised": Thousands of Foreign Nationals Receive SASSA Grants as Figures Spark Debate in SA
- SASSA's half-year report revealed that over 34,000 foreign nationals receive the Older Person's Grant
- The majority of foreign national grant recipients are permanent residents living in Gauteng
- Thousands of foreign nationals also receive the Child Support Grant and have applied for the SRD grant
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Source: Getty Images
South Africa's social security system is extending billions of rands in support to foreign nationals each year, according to figures from the South African Social Security Agency.
SASSA's half-year report shows that 34,249 foreign nationals currently receive the Older Person's Grant, also known as the Old Age Grant. The agency spends more than R986 million annually on this grant alone for permanent residents and refugees.
Who is receiving the grant?
The vast majority of those beneficiaries, 34,051, are permanent residents rather than refugees. Gauteng has the highest concentration, with 17,221 permanent residents in the province collecting the grant. Mpumalanga follows with 5,714 recipients, Limpopo has 3,801, and the Western Cape accounts for 1,899 foreign national beneficiaries.
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The figures form part of a broader picture. Across all grant types, 46,151 foreign nationals receive some form of social assistance from SASSA.
Source: Getty Images
Child support and SRD grants also in the mix
Beyond the Old Age Grant, 11,802 foreign nationals receive the Child Support Grant. That translates to roughly R82 million spent annually on child support payments to non-South African beneficiaries.
Foreign nationals have also been tapping into the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant. At the start of 2026, SASSA recorded 75,665 refugees and asylum seekers who had applied for the R390 monthly SRD grant.
Read the South African article here.
Mzansi react strongly to the numbers
Mzansi had plenty to say on the Facebook page:
Una-thi MaBunny Majavu said:
"Aha! Then that explains the resistance to go back..."
Odette Jasmin wrote:
"That's why pensioners get 80 rand increase."
Miyawuli Hlayisani Madala commented:
"I'm not surprised."
Marcel Adriaan noted:
"South Africa has a lot of dark secrets."
Hettie Wilcox asked:
"What about those that never worked to pay taxes but get SASSA?"
More briefly News stories on SASSA
- SASSA has finally clarified that a single deposit into your bank account won't automatically cancel your grant, and explained what a grant review means.
- KZN officials warn that scammers are draining pensioners' SASSA grant accounts through fake offers and unauthorised charges, and urge families to help.
- A South African advocacy page is questioning SASSA after 169,000 grants were suspended for beneficiaries who did not respond to SMS verification notices.
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Source: Briefly News
