Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media
Fellow South Africans
We would like to welcome you to this urgent briefing which we have convened to clarify the Constitutional Court judgment on asylum applications and its impact not only on operations of the Department of Home Affairs but also the overall management of the irregular migration regime.
This briefing follows and urgent IMC meeting last night to deal particularly to deal with this matter. We must reaffirm that the IMC continues with its work as tasked by the President and committed to the nation. We currently meet Monthly while work streams continues with various tasks.
Recapping of our Commitments and Announcements
During our last media briefing we informed the nation that cabinet approved the Border infrastructure plan which will be implemented in a phased in approach. This will ensure that we protect our borders so that there are no illegal movement of people and goods within our borderline. We further indicated that, we have commenced with the work in partnership with provinces and municipalities of dealing with high jacked and abundant buildings. That task team is led by COGTA.
We further highlighted that following SIU investigations and revelations of the Traffic registration number the department of Transport issued a gazette with deadline to cancel the TRN numbers whose owners have not complied with the notice. We committed that the refugees centres will be moved from inland to our border areas in a phased in approach starting from December this year, so that the applications are processed such that those rejected can be turned back at port of entry and those approved can proceed to enter the republic.
We continued to update the Nation on various amendments to pieces of legislation as part of broader migration management. Amongst others was the review of the Migration policies and legislation and this includes the policies and laws that governs the granting of refugee status in the country. We remind the nation of the White paper policy by home affairs that many South Africans participated during public hearings. Home Affairs has commenced with the process of legislative drafting and IMC we have reiterated the urgency in which this legislation is required.
We reiterate what we said in our first media briefing that, our work has immediate tasks, medium term task and long term tasks. We indicated that this IMC remains in operation until it achieves all the objectives as committed by the President to the Nation. This work requires focus, transpancy and accountability from the IMC, cooperation and collaboration from departments and all spheres of government and social partners, patience from our citizens and compliance from foreign nationals within our shores.
I would like to remind all South Africans that this year we are commemorating the 30year anniversary of the adoption of the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Because of the adoption of the constitution 30 years ago, we now have a foundation upon which we can strive towards the common vision for unity in diversity, while strengthening the culture of respect for human rights and the rule of law in South Africa.
We would like to emphasize that as a government committed to the Rule of Law and our constitutional obligations, we respect the Constitutional Court's decision. We are however concerned about certain unintended consequences of this important judgment, and we would like to take this opportunity to bring South Africans into confidence about our current position on the matter and the proposed interventions to alleviate these unintended consequences. The constitutional court made a ruling on July 2026 on a matter of Scalabrini centre of Cape Town and Another vs Minister of Home Affairs and Others.
This judgement is amongst many judgements that have been handed down by various courts in our land. Following this judgement, Home Affairs issued its directives to the refugees centres across the country. In our analysis these directives together with the Concourt judgement had unintended consequences due to misunderstanding and operational difficulties. We understand the concerns of citizens when they wake up to long queues outside Home Affairs offices and yes we confirm that all refugee offices were overwhelmed by the numbers of those coming for applications. We appreciate the collaborative work between Home Affairs officials together with police officers to manage the situation in the last two days.
What the Constitutional Court Judgment Says
The Constitutional Court declared certain provisions of the Refugees Act unconstitutional because they prevented some individuals from accessing the asylum system solely on procedural grounds, including where a person entered the country irregularly, did not possess an asylum transit visa, or failed to report to a Refugee Reception Office within the prescribed period.
The Court found that these procedural barriers could result in asylum seekers being excluded from the asylum process without their claims being properly assessed on their merits. The judgment reaffirmed South Africa's constitutional and international obligations, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of a person to a country where they may face persecution, conflict, or serious harm.
Importantly, the judgment does not grant refugee status or permanent residence automatically to anyone who enters South Africa, nor does it legalise unlawful migration. It simply requires that individuals claiming asylum be allowed access to the asylum determination process so that their claims can be properly assessed in terms of the law.
Applications that are fraudulent, abusive, unfounded or do not meet the requirements of the Refugees Act will still be rejected through the established legal processes. Also very important to emphasize is that the decision of the Constitutional Court does not confer new rights to asylum seekers as many in the social media circles falsely claim.
Instead, it mainly focuses on the following three critical areas:
- Procedural Restoration, Not Broadened Status: The court’s decision only remedies a procedural defect regarding how applications are initially processed. It ensures that individuals are not summarily deported or barred based solely on administrative technicalities—such as lacking a transit visa or missing a tight reporting deadline—without an interview.
- Rigorous Merit Assessments Remain: The ruling does not grant automatic refugee status or guarantee a right to remain in South Africa indefinitely. Every applicant must still subject themselves to the formal Refugee Status Determination process, where their claims will be thoroughly investigated under the strict criteria set out in international and domestic law.
- Upholding Border Control and Domestic Law: The government retains its full sovereign right and duty to enforce the Immigration Act. Those found to be abusing the asylum process or failing to meet the legal definition of a refugee will continue to face lawful deportation once due process has been completed
- Those granted refugee status do not have the right to vote in terms of our laws in the country, contrary to what is being circulated in the country.
- It is not true that home affairs offices will not be able to service South Africans because they are flooded by refugee applicants.
There are only five (5) Refugees centres in the country.
Implications for Department of Home Affairs Operations
In compliance with the ruling of the court, Refugee Reception Offices have been directed to receive and process applications from persons who indicate an intention to seek asylum, including individuals who may have entered the country irregularly and who were previously unable to access the asylum system because of procedural requirements.
This means that Refugee Reception Offices may no longer deny access to the asylum application process based on quotas, administrative restrictions, or the absence of certain documentation before an application is lodged. The IMC recognised and acknowledged that these directives which were intended to comply with Concourt judgement may have led to the arrival of many foreign nationals to their offices of which Home Affairs had not sufficient capacity to deal with.
We recognised that this development have place significant pressure on refugee processing facilities and administrative systems at home Affairs. As the IMC on Migration, we are therefore working closely with the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, law-enforcement agencies and relevant departments to address the immediate operational implications of this judgment.
Our coordinated response, among others includes:
- Strengthening refugee processing capacity and administrative systems;
- Enhancing identity verification and biometric screening processes;
- Accelerating the adjudication of asylum applications;
- Improving information-sharing between migration, security and lawenforcement agencies;
- Intensifying efforts to identify and act against abuse and fraud within the asylum system;
- Continuing to enforce immigration laws against persons who do not qualify for protection under South African law. We further reiterate that abuse of our systems will not be tolerated by the State
- We will further recommend to the President to extend the SIU proclamation to include all refugee centres, so that we deal with fraudulent issuing of asylum status
We are also engaging legal teams to help us firstly to consolidate all court judgements on migration, do analysis of their implication and implementation requirements. The legal team will provide us with various options available to the state including looking at any available precedence how the state found itself in difficult situation like this where, time and resources are needed to comply with a court judgement.
Furthermore, the legal team coordinated work by government in relation to the directives issued by the Gauteng Judge President. The Judge President established a panel and issued directives following two contradicting judgements from his divisions and government through the DG of home Affairs requesting guidance on which judgement to follow.
The Five-Point Plan Remains in Full Force
The IMC wishes to emphasise that the Constitutional Court judgment does not alter Government's commitment to its comprehensive Five-Point Plan for the management of migration. Government remains focused on:
1. Strengthening border management and preventing illegal border crossings;
2. Enhancing law enforcement against criminal syndicates involved in human smuggling, trafficking and document fraud;
3. Improving migration management systems and documentation processes;
4. Accelerating the deportation of individuals who have exhausted legal remedies and do not qualify to remain in South Africa;
5. Promoting social cohesion, community stability and lawful migration practices while combating, misinformation and vigilantism. These measures remain central to Government's efforts to ensure safe, secure and orderly migration.
Reject Misinformation and Respect the Rule of Law
Once again, we would like to emphasize that we are deeply concerned by the deliberate spread of misinformation and disinformation designed to create panic, fuel social tensions and undermine public confidence in government institutions.South Africans are urged to verify information through official government channels and not through social media posts, fabricated content, sensational claims or politically motivated narratives.
We remain available to clarify information to anyone or organisation where there is confusion or a need. We appreciate the reaching out by Operation Dudula leadership, requesting engagement with the IMC and we will be meeting them this afternoon. It is important to note that it will take all of us to work together in order to build a better country for future generations. If we work in silos, against each other as the State and the citizens we weaken ourself where it can be easy for the enemy of the republic to penetrate and destroy our country.
Many of us have no other home or country but our beloved South Africa and therefore lets be cautious about what we do. Sometimes certain actions though with good intentions can have unintended disastrous consequences. At this important moment, it is essential that all sectors of society uphold the Constitution, respect the independence of the judiciary and reject any attempt to incite hostility, violence, vigilantism, or discrimination.
We also issue a stern warning that anyone who falsely presents herself or himself at our refugees centre knowing very well that they don’t qualify or meet the requirements for seeking asylum status will face consequences. Because they will be deliberately blocking those who genuinely require the service and need to be granted the asylum status.
We recently hosted the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) which noted South Africa’s commitment to constitutional democracy and promotion of human rights. Among other things, on the current state of human rights in South Africa, the Commission noted with commendation the existence of a robust and comprehensive constitutional and legislative framework giving recognition to and protection for the human and peoples’ rights enshrined in the African Charter.
The commission also rejected any suggestion that South Africa is inherently xenophobic or Afro-phobic or unique in experiencing incidents of xenophobia or Afrophobia South Africa is a nation governed by the rule of law. Constitutional Court judgments are binding on all organs of state, and Government will continue to implement such judgments responsibly while protecting national interest, maintaining public order, strengthening border security and ensuring that migration is managed in a fair, lawful and orderly manner.
The IMC will have its regular meeting next week and this will be followed by a media briefing on progress towards the implementation of the five-point plan. We therefore call on all South Africans to stand together in defence of constitutional democracy, social cohesion and the truth.
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