South Africa – Justice Minister and chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration (IMC), Mmamoloko Kubayi, has sought to clarify that the Constitutional Court’s recent asylum ruling does not legalise unlawful migration or give undocumented foreigners an automatic right to remain in South Africa.
Kubayi said the court judgment must not be interpreted as granting legal status to people who are in the country unlawfully.
The Constitutional Court ruling, handed down in July, struck down provisions of the Refugees Act that had prevented some people from accessing the asylum system because of how they entered the country or because they failed to meet certain procedural requirements.
Following the judgment, the Department of Home Affairs instructed refugee reception offices to accept asylum applications from people seeking protection, including those who entered South Africa without the required documentation.
IMC Chairperson Mmamoloko Kubayi says the Constitutional Court ruling relates to procedural issues and does not guarantee refugee status.
She further clarifies that it does not grant refugees the right to vote and services should continue uninterrupted at Home Affairs for South Africans.
— SA News Link (@SANewsLink) October 8, 2026
A directive signed by acting Home Affairs director-general Thulani Mavuso requires refugee reception offices to accept anyone who reports in person and indicates an intention to apply for asylum.
The directive states: “Every refugee reception office must, with immediate effect, receive every person who reports in person and indicates an intention to apply for asylum.”
The reopening of the asylum system has since resulted in large numbers of people arriving at refugee reception offices.
GroundUp reported that the system had effectively prevented most new applicants from lodging asylum claims since 2020, but that the Constitutional Court’s July judgment found the restrictions unconstitutional. The publication reported that, for the first time in years, “all asylum seekers, including people who entered South Africa unlawfully or have no visa,” are being given access to the asylum system.
IMMIGRATION | IMC Chairperson Mmamoloko Kubayi says the Constitutional Court ruling relates to procedural issues and does not guarantee refugee status. She further clarifies that it does not grant refugees the right to vote. https://t.co/XXBVvArDGL
— SABC News (@SABCNews) October 8, 2026
The development has placed additional pressure on Home Affairs, with long queues forming outside refugee reception offices.
EWN reported that thousands of people have turned up to apply for asylum, overwhelming refugee reception offices.
Kubayi acknowledged the concerns among South Africans, saying: “We understand the concerns of citizens when they woke up to long queues outside human rights offices.” She added that refugee offices had been “overwhelmed by the numbers” of people seeking to lodge applications.
The ruling has also triggered tensions at Home Affairs offices. EWN reported that about 1,000 foreign nationals gathered outside the Durban Refugee Reception Centre on Wednesday, where anti-illegal immigration groups confronted people waiting to apply for asylum.
The government has urged the public to remain calm while it works through the implications of the judgment.
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