South Africa Seeks Court Guidance on Asylum Ruling, Plans Registration System

South Africa's government will approach the courts for a supervisory order to guide how it implements a Constitutional Court judgment on asylum processing, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration announced on Sunday at a media briefing in Pretoria. The committee said it had weighed the legal implications of the 7 July 2026 ruling alongside the administrative difficulties of carrying it out, according to SA News. It plans to request guidance on the scope of supervisory measures and on how long any suspension period should last so that operational capacity can be built.

The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional sections of the Refugees Act that allowed immigration officials to deport an asylum seeker found in the country without a transit visa. A transit visa is issued at a port of entry so a person can travel to a refugee reception centre and apply for asylum. IMC Chair Mmamoloko Kubayi said the aim was not to delay compliance but to ensure it is effective and sustainable, serving both the administration of justice and the broader public interest. She added that the government remains legally bound by the existing order while it pursues further legal guidance.

By 10 November 2026, the Department of Home Affairs expects to launch a phased online intention-registration and appointment model. Applicants would register their intention to seek asylum online and receive a receipt recording personal particulars, biometric information, a reference number and an appointment at a Refugee Reception Office, with assisted registration available at those offices and, on request, for people in police or immigration detention through officials, legal representatives and civil society partners. The IMC said the receipt would prove a person has declared an intention to seek asylum but would not amount to a section 22 visa or recognition of refugee status.

Under the arrangement, Home Affairs will tell its officials and the Border Management Authority not to remove, refoul or arrest receipt holders solely for being in the country without a visa while their applications are lodged and finally determined, with the police, correctional services, prosecuting authority and courts also informed. The IMC said the protection would apply to first asylum applications and that people whose claims have been finally rejected cannot revive it by declaring a new intention — though a rejected applicant raising a genuinely new claim about persecution or serious harm should be referred for legal advice before removal. The system is also to include confidentiality safeguards, published service standards, a complaints mechanism and statistics made available to the courts; applicants who miss appointments without an extension lose them, and rejected applicants will be flagged.

In parallel, the Minister of Home Affairs is drafting legislation aligned with the Cabinet-approved Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, which the IMC has asked to be fast-tracked and which is expected to go through Parliament in the next financial year, providing among other things for remote lodging of applications and addressing the first safe country principle. Home Affairs also reported progress on the President's June announcement that refugee reception centres would move to ports of entry, starting with Beitbridge in December. The IMC said the government would consider public proposals for refugee camps, particularly for people whose applications are still being processed, weighing the legal and financial implications, while departments prepare for a 29 October High Court hearing on conflicting directives.