South Africa experiences a relatively high influx of immigration annually. As of 2019, the number of immigrants entering the country continues to increase, the majority of whom are working residents and hold great influence over the continued presence of several sectors throughout South Africa. The demographic background of these migrant groups is very diverse, with many of the countries of origin belonging to nations throughout sub-saharan Africa. A portion of them have qualified as refugees since the 1990s.
According to the United Nations, there is also an additional, yet considerable, Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani diaspora in South Africa, many of whom had arrived in South Africa during the 1990s seeking business opportunities and greater economic stability. The abolishment of the discriminatory Apartheid system, as well as subsequent migrant policy changes and social reform that took place during that period only helped to facilitate the influx.
The current immigration policy taken up by the South African government is aimed at maintaining the status quo, although the immigration rate has historically been something the South African government has attempted to decrease. Certain immigration laws have shifted since the end of apartheid, but some provisions of the mid-to-late twentieth century are still in effect, and xenophobic attitudes remain prevalent.
Immigration Facts and Figures The rate of female immigration has been expanding since post-colonialism. Themost present age groups among both male and female migrants range from 25 to 34 and 35–44.Sibanda, Nomazulu (2008). "The Impact of Immigration on the Labour Market: Evidence from South Africa". University of Fort Hare.
The highest levels of remittances received from South Africa are respectively in Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, and Malawi. Immigrants tend to be more highly skilled than non-foreign populations. However, it is common for a highly-skilled worker to be limited to low-skilled work upon immigrating to South Africa.Dodson (2010). "Locating Xenophobia: Debate, Discourse, and Everyday Experience in Cape Town, South Africa". Africa Today. 56 (3): 2. doi:10.2979/aft.2010.56.3.2. ISSN 0001-9887. The most common sectors immigrants work in are casual work, restaurants (hospitality), manufacturing, and construction. Around 10 percent of this group is unemployed, which is significantly lower than the average unemployment rate of South Africans. Research has consistently found that immigrants in South Africa experience lower unemployment rates than the South African-born population. Earlier research by Sibanda (2008) found that approximately 10% of immigrants were unemployed and that immigrants were concentrated in sectors such as hospitality, manufacturing, construction and casual labour. More recent analysis, using South African census data, found that naturalised immigrants and foreign nationals generally engage more successfully with the labour market than locals on average.
The 2014 HSBC Expat Experience Report ranked South Africa 14th in their league table based on expat experiences.
Black Africans compose about 79.6% (2007 est.) of the population and represent different ethnic groups, including Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Tsonga, Venda, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana and Swazi, as well as recent immigrants from other parts of Africa (particularly Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo). Whites compose 9.1% (2007 est), being the descendants of Dutch, French, British, Irish, and German settlers who began arriving at the Cape from the mid- to late 17th century, immigrants from Europe who arrived in South Africa in the twentieth century, and Portuguese who left the former Portuguese colonies of southern Africa (Angola and Mozambique) after their independence in the mid-1970s. Coloureds (8.8%, 2007 est) are mixed-race people primarily descended from the earliest settlers, their slaves, and the indigenous peoples. The remaining 2.4% are categorized as 'Indian/Asian', including the descendants of Indian indentured sugar estate workers and traders who came to South Africa in the mid-19th (particularly around Natal), as well as a few Chinese South Africans (approximately 250,000 - 350,000).Statistics South Africa Mid-year population estimates, South Africa: 2007
Immigration assumptions by Statistics South Africa to South Africa based on race. Negative numbers represent net migration from South Africa to other countries. YearAfricanAsianWhite 1985–2000 635 275 14 476 -304 112 2001–2005 769 038 23 335 -133 7822006-2010 922 885 34 688 -112 046 2011–2015 1 067 936 40 929 -95 158
Countries of Origin The origins of many South African immigrants come from countries throughout the African continent, including, but not limited to: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Most immigrants to South Africa originate from the neighboring countries of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. The spike in the number of immigrants in the mid-1980s can be attributed to a high demand for mine labor. In the 1990s, the RENAMO War in Mozambique caused an influx of migration into South Africa, and in modern times this particular group is often granted refugee status. In 2008, many work permit holders came from Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, and the majority of asylum-seekers hailed from Somalia. Source: United Nations (2020) Total foreign-born 2,860,495 Place of birth Population 690,243 350,463 192,008 94,119 67,382 63,892 58,491 50,475 47,945 45,435 44,181 36,671 36,210 29,935 28,122 23,713 22,901 19,901 16,595 15,565 14,582 13,325 11,900 11,861 11,544 10,878 10,243 10,186 9,577 9,124 8,034 7,894 7,429 6,914 6,859 6,495 5,918 5,852 5,771 5,690 5,564 5,382
Immigration Law and Policy The Aliens Control Act of 1991 (ACA) is one of the last policies implemented by the apartheid regime of South Africa. It served to determine the flow of immigration into South Africa, transitioning from exclusive to selective immigration in times of high labor demands, and to induce stricter enforcement of immigration law. The policy has been critiqued internationally as a source of mass human rights violations and unconstitutionality, including minimal due process in entry, search, and arrest. The Act characterizes and considers all migrants, including refugees and asylum-seekers, as "illegal aliens."
The apartheid's general stance on immigration policy can be suggested through four major actions on programming: racist policy and legislation, exploitation of migrant labor from bordering countries, strict enforcement of legislation, and dismissal of refugee conventions of the United Nations (UN). Legislation continuously used religious or racial quotas to determine inflow and isolate certain groups from immigrating. Preferred immigrants were white Europeans or highly skilled workers. The apartheid followed a "two-gates policy" to restrict permanent residency and issue labor contracts that would ensure the eventual return migration of mining and commercial farming workers. Stricter enforcement targeted refugees from Mozambique, and "Operation Sentry" effectively deported about 47,000 of this group in 1991. Further legislation upgraded a penalty for harboring undocumented migrants to five years imprisonment, and law enforcement carried out several raids on informal settlements of migrants from Mozambique. Backed by the ACA, the apartheid government rejected language of policies introduced at international refugee conventions, essentially viewing asylum-seekers as migrants having illegally entered and settled in South Africa.
The post-apartheid regime introduced a new framework on immigration through programs such as the Reconstruction and Development Plan; Growth, Employment, Redistribution; the 1996 Presidential Commission to Investigate Labour Market Policy. While these policies dismantled the racist legislation of the previous government, the newly empowered government has been criticized for not removing the ACA and condemning the associated xenophobia which has trickled into contemporary public opinion. Since 1994, the following regimes have in fact used the ACA to implement strict immigration measures. However, in general, immigration policy was reduced in restrictiveness by 60.4% between 1994 and 2014. The post-apartheid government did approve a one-time reparation for victims of previous immigration laws deemed racist. It also implemented three amnesty policies between 1995 and 1996, benefiting mine-workers, migrants with over five years of uninterrupted residency in South Africa, and Mozambican refugees who arrived before 1992. The regime adopted an acceptance towards the UN Refugee Conventions and made South Africa a signatory in 1995. The government passed the Refugee Act of 1998, which lacked specific language to determine the status of refugee, reflecting some public disapproval which has considered refugees as falsely-posing economic migrants. As of 2015, the government's stance on immigration policy has been to maintain existing levels and rates, however, during the previous ten years it aimed to reduce the numbers of immigrants present and moving into South Africa.
South Africa's contemporary immigration framework is governed by the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act 13 of 2002), as amended, which regulates admission, residence and departure.
The principal Act has been amended by the Immigration Amendment Act 3 of 2007, the Immigration Amendment Act 13 of 2011 and the Immigration Amendment Act 8 of 2016.
Implementation is detailed in the Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413 in GG 37679 of 22 May 2014), which replaced earlier regulations and have since been amended, including in 2018 (GN R1328 in GG 42071 of 29 Nov 2018) and further regulatory updates in 2024.
From October 2024 the department introduced a points-based system for work visas by Government Notice (replacing an earlier version issued the same month) and finalized a remote-work (digital nomad) visa framework; digitisation measures continue.
Policy direction is also set out in the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection (Government Gazette 50530, 17 Apr 2024).
Depictions of Immigrants The post-apartheid government misquoted the number of undocumented immigrants at 9 million; the actual number was closer to 500,000. They also increased deportations by 75%, deporting 600,000 between 1994 and 2000, 84% of this group having previously arrived as refugees. Deportations were used as indicators of crime reduction in mass media to portray law enforcement as more effective. This reinforced a common assumption that lasted through later years and was upheld by the comments of public officials, such as President Nelson Mandela, which associated immigrants with crime. However, immigrants in South Africa are more often victims of crime than perpetrators. Ministers and other officials have been cited blaming undocumented immigrants for lack of resources, in addition to crime.