SA Government to Invoice African Embassies for Deporting Illegal Foreign Nationals

PRETORIA— South Africa plans to shift the financial burden of deportations to foreign embassies. The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that over 110,000 undocumented migrants have been deported in recent years. This high volume of enforcement operations has resulted in significant expenses for the department.

Speaking to SABC News, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza said the department noted that, while the Lindela Repatriation Centre remains the primary facility for processing individuals for repatriation, rising costs require a new financial strategy. Officials are currently reviewing mechanisms to send the bills associated with these deportations directly to the respective embassies of the foreign nationals involved.

"This new way of working integrative gives us further reach and more access to crack down on enforcement."

International Agreements and Capacity

Nzuza added that several embassies possess the necessary resources and capacity to manage their citizens, often utilising chartered flights for repatriation. South Africa already maintains existing return agreements with specific countries, where those governments cover portions of the costs for citizens who overstay their visas. The department intends to expand these engagements to ensure more cost-effective enforcement operations moving forward.

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Judicial and Processing Operations

Currently, South Africa lacks specialised immigration magistrate courts. Individuals arrested during operations are processed through standard magistrate courts distributed across the country before being sent to repatriation centres. Nzuza emphasised that transferring these costs to foreign missions will allow local authorities to maintain strict immigration enforcement without depleting domestic public funds.

Briefly News speaks to an expert

Professor Loren Landau, the South African Research Chair in Human Mobility and the Politics of Difference at the African Centre for Migration & Society at Wits University, weighed in on the repatriation.

Special courts have their place in times of crisis. Specialised courts where there are judges and administrators with specific expertise on issues of migration, labour, domestic abuse, etc already exist. The concern is that by locating these courts within security zones (e.g., Lindela, the border zone, airports), they become unaccountable and unobservable. This doesn't guarantee they will violate due process and human rights, but it makes it much more likely," he told Briefly News.

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Cyril Ramaphosa addresses migration

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation after a string of anti-illegal immigration protests took place. He slammed employers hiring illegal immigrants.

Source: Briefly News