Following violent protests in Soweto and Durban, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration (IMC) today has briefed the public on government’s response to the Constitutional Court’s asylum seeker ruling that has reopened the asylum system to new applications.

Committee chair Mmamoloko Kubayi has appealed for calm.

The Constitutional Court’s July 2026 ruling forced Home Affairs to open the asylum system to all undocumented foreign nationals, triggering a massive surge that overwhelmed the country’s five Refugee Reception Offices (RROs) with chaotic queues they could not handle. The sight of thousands lining up outside government buildings fuelled public anxiety, which escalated into violent protests and unrest in Soweto and Durban.

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Supervisory order sought

The IMC said it had carefully considered the implications of the judgment and explored various options to respond to the challenges arising from its subsequent order. Following detailed legal consultations, the committee was advised that government could approach the courts to seek a supervisory order.

Such an order would enable the court to retain oversight of the implementation process and provide guidance on how the order should be operationalised. It may also include a suspension period to allow the Department of Home Affairs time to develop and strengthen the administrative, human resource, infrastructure and processing capacity needed to implement the judgment effectively and sustainably.

It will allow Government to avoid administrative disruption while ensuring that the rights recognised by the court are progressively and meaningfully realised.

“We believe that this approach represents a responsible and lawful mechanism to ensure that constitutional obligations are fulfilled in a manner that is orderly, practical, and in the public interest,” stated Kubayi.

The objective, Kubayi said, was not to delay compliance, but to ensure effective and sustainable compliance that served both the administration of justice and the broader public interest.

Registration and appointment model introduced

The IMC welcomed a phased structure intention-registration and appointment model that will be introduced by the Department of Home Affairs for asylum seeker applications by 10 November.

The process will be implemented as follows so that there is no gap in intake. A receipt will be issued online, with an appointment booked at a RRO. Assisted registration is available at every RRO and, on request – for persons in police or immigration detention – through officials, legal representatives and civil society partners, in the main languages.

The receipt will record the holder’s particulars, biometrics, the declared intention to apply for asylum, the reference number, and the appointment. It states that it is not a Section 22 visa and not recognition of status, that Section 2 of the act applies to the holder, and what the holder must do.

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Non-refoulement attaches by operation of law to any person who has declared an intention to seek asylum; the receipt is the proof of that intention and the means by which the department operationalises the protection.

“The department will further instruct all officials and the Border Management Authority that a holder of a valid receipt is not to be removed or refouled, and is not to be arrested or detained solely for being in the country without a visa, pending lodging and final determination,” said Kubayi, adding that the police and the Department of Correctional Services, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the courts would be informed accordingly.

Receipt protects, but does not grant status

The position of a person whose earlier claim has been finally rejected is different. He or she has no right under the act to make a subsequent application and does not reactivate the protection of Section 2 by declaring an intention again.

“The court expressly left open whether the act is under-inclusive in making no provision for a genuinely new claim arising after final rejection. Until that question is resolved, a specific and new claim that removal would expose such a person to persecution or serious harm should be referred for legal advice before removal.”

The receipt thus protects only those who have registered an intention, and that deportations for other contraventions of the Immigration Act continue.

The IMC said officials would still be required to receive any person’s intention to make a first asylum application at any stage, including in detention. If an appointment is not attended and no extension is sought, the application falls away.

Those whose applications are rejected will be flagged and will not be able to lodge new applications.

The committee said the platform protected confidentiality and personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), was is accessible to people without devices or documents.

Deportations to continue, camps under review

Parallel to the above, Kubayi said the Minister of Home Affairs was in the process of drafting legislation in line with the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, which draft legislation is envisaged to be processed through Parliament in the next financial year.
The legislation will, among others, allow for remote lodging of applications, and will include the matter of the first Safe Country from Country of Origin as articulated by the white paper.

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Furthermore, she said, Home Affairs have reported advanced process in bringing into effect the pronouncement by the president in June that refugee centres would move to South Africa’s ports of entry, starting with Beitbridge by this December.

“Many South Africans have suggested that government reconsider its position of not setting up a refugee camp especially for those who are still being processed. We will process this suggestion from legal and financial implications,” she said.

“Our work on enforcing the law will continue, this therefore means deportations will continue. Protection applies only to people who have asked to make a first application for asylum. Those who are in the country illegally and have not, and those whose claims have been finally rejected, after any review or appeal, will continue to be deported as the law requires.”

IMC appeals for calm as tensions simmer

She said the IMC was acutely aware that public discussions surrounding the judgment had generated uncertainty, speculation and, in some instances, heightened tensions within communities, and called on all members of the public, civil society organisations, community formations and political stakeholders to exercise restraint and allow the legal processes underway to run their course.

“We reiterate that law enforcement will not allow threats, intimidation or unlawful conduct to undermine public safety, disrupt sporting events or destabilise communities. We support the law enforcement in the resolve to protect lives, safeguard property and uphold the rule of law. We will indeed act decisively, and within the confines of the law against anyone who threatens public order.”

She stressed that while the Constitution protected the right to assemble, demonstrate and present grievances peacefully, this did not extend to intimidation, looting, malicious damage to property, public violence or the obstruction of lawful activities.

The committee also expressed concern about the increasing circulation of inflammatory and misleading content on social media platforms aimed at provoking hostility, mobilising unlawful action or inciting violence against foreign nationals, public officials or state institutions.

Kubayi said while freedom of expression was constitutionally protected, the incitement of violence, intimidation, hate speech and criminal conduct were not, and would not be tolerated, adding that law enforcement agencies were monitoring developments closely.