ActionSA has made its submission to the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, anchored on ending the widespread abuse of South Africa’s immigration regime and ensuring that the urgent overhaul prioritises the rights, security and interests of South African citizens.

Our submission confronts the reality that uncontrolled immigration, coupled with deep policy failures and weak enforcement, has created conditions in which foreign nationals are drawn into a system that exploits their vulnerability while simultaneously displacing South Africans from fair access to jobs, services and opportunities. Our system currently rewards non-compliance, undermines labour standards and national security, and leaves citizens competing for scarce resources in their own country.

Capacity-Linked Intake Planning and Parliamentary Oversight

We proposed an annual national ceiling of 10 000 for new asylum grants and refugee recognitions, broken down by country or processing priority, linking these quotas to our budget and absorption capacity to ensure that no single nationality dominates inflows while still protecting genuine cases. Annual migration targets presented to Parliament would improve oversight, fiscal planning and service delivery. 

Support for the First Safe Country Principle with Enforcement

We support the full enforcement of the First Safe Country Principle, making it clear that those who pass through safe third countries are ineligible to seek asylum in South Africa. Rejected claimants should be deported promptly under clear procedures, with the cost of deportation covered by the embassies of their countries of origin, ensuring returns are lawful, efficient and humane.

Designated Integration and Repatriation Centres 

To address systemic refugee management and integration failures, ActionSA proposed replacing Refugee Reception Offices with Integration and Repatriation Centres (IRC) near borders and inland hubs. These centres would accommodate asylum seekers for a limited period, providing basic services as well as limited self-sustaining and work opportunities. 

By decoupling the asylum-seeker population from primary community resources in high-density urban areas, ActionSA wants this model to prevent the “competing fight for resources” between migrants and local citizens. For rejected cases or those unsuitable for integration, the IRC would serve as a final departure point, ensuring direct and efficient repatriation from a controlled environment.

Timeframes and Periodic Re-Evaluation

We further proposed that Integration and Repatriation Centres operate under strict processing timelines, with asylum permits valid for up to 12 months. Refugee status should be reviewed upon any application for permit renewal, with automatic revocation and rejection if an individual returns to their country of origin at any point. 

Tracking and Documentation

ActionSA proposed issuing traceable, biometric identification for all asylum seekers linked to the Intelligent Population Register. This system allows real-time verification, periodic reporting, and location monitoring, solving untraceable claimant issues while maintaining dignity and state security.

Citizen Prioritisation and Enforcement

Any immigration policy must prioritise citizens by linking residency and citizenship opportunities to skills, economic contribution and the protection of public resources. ActionSA proposes a Dual-Stream Processing System that separates economic migrants from genuine refugees and protects the system from abuse through a defined eligibility checklist.

Modernisation of Skilled Migration and Talent Attraction 

ActionSA supports that the Skilled Worker Visa and Points-Based System be framed as tools for economic competitiveness and supported a Graduate Retention Clause that would retain STEM graduates for two years, while an annually updated Critical Skills List ensures immigration supports the “Citizens First” agenda and creates jobs for South Africans.

We are confident that our proposals, which focus on clear, resource-conscious quotas, defined timeframes, designated processing centres, robust tracking mechanisms and the strengthened application of the First Safe Country Principle, demonstrate that South Africa can meet its humanitarian obligations while decisively prioritising its own citizens. 

 ActionSA believes that we must overhaul our immigration system so that it is more difficult for those who seek to illegally defraud or circumvent it, while remaining accessible and attractive to those who follow the legal process and seek to contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s development and prosperity.