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South Africa is preparing to revoke more than 2,000 visas identified as potentially fraudulent as part of a review by the Department of Home Affairs.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the department is examining administrative processes to cancel visas believed to have been issued through networks that manipulated the immigration system.
“We’re looking at administrative processes to potentially revoke over 2,000 visas that may have come fraudulently out of this kind of work,” Schreiber said.
The action follows an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which examined visa and work permit approvals and identified irregularities and document fraud.
During a media briefing in Pretoria, Schreiber stated that dozens of officials who were involved in severe maladministration had already faced disciplinary action.
“We also have 275 criminal referrals out of this work, 111 investigations that have been closed,” Schreiber said.
Twenty Home Affairs employees have been fired and sixteen suspended since April of last year. In all, since July 2024, over 55 officials have been fired.
According to a statement from the state’s Special Investigating Unit, four of the fired officials received direct deposits totalling more than 16 million rand ($1 million). The officials were not named.
One built a mansion, while others purchased multiple properties in cash, it said.
“These findings show that corruption in the visa system is not incidental; it is organised, deliberate, and devastating to public trust,” the SIU said.
South Africa’s immigration system has been “treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder,” it added.
According to the report, payments were made to the officials’ spouses after applications were regularly submitted via WhatsApp for quick approval. In other instances, cash was concealed in application forms.
It found that some officials received payments in exchange for visas and residence permits. The SIU reported that four dismissed officials received a total of over 16 million rand ($1 million) in direct deposits and made property purchases.
The Home Affairs Department is implementing measures to reduce fraud, including digitising systems and migrating to an electronic travel authorisation platform.
Schreiber noted, “It is only through the systemic reform anchored in digital transformation and the use of modern technology that we can definitively close the space for corruption.”
Authorities have also made 275 criminal referrals, while 111 investigations have been finalised. A number of disciplinary procedures are still in progress.
Per President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive, the inquiry examined visa issuance from 2004 to 2024.
