South Africa to start charging Nigeria, others for deportation of their nationals

South Africa has announced plans to start charging foreign governments for the cost of deporting their nationals who violate the country’s immigration laws.

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The move comes amid a renewed crackdown on undocumented migrants and growing anti-immigration sentiment that has prompted the repatriation of hundreds of African nationals, including Nigerians and Ghanaians, from the country.

The policy was disclosed by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, which said the government would seek to recover expenses incurred in detaining and deporting foreign nationals, a South-Africa-based radio service, Channel Africa, reported on 9 June, but did not state when the announcement was made.

According to South African authorities, more than 100,000 undocumented migrants have been deported over the past two years, placing a significant financial burden on the state.

Countries to bear deportation costs

Explaining the new approach, South African authorities said governments whose citizens violate South Africa’s immigration laws would be expected to shoulder the costs of their repatriation.

“Moving forward, we will also be billing countries for their foreign nationals who have to be deported or who are in our criminal detention facilities and have to be deported back into their countries,” the department said.

“At least now we can see that there’s capacity for countries to extract the foreign nationals who have fallen foul of the law. That’s something that, through the Department of Home Affairs, we will pursue as a government,” it added.

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The announcement follows recent evacuation and repatriation exercises undertaken by several African governments in response to growing fears among their citizens living in South Africa.

The first batch of 258 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived in Lagos on Wednesday, marking the beginning of a federal government-coordinated repatriation exercise, while Ghana recently evacuated about 1,000 of its citizens. Reports indicate that other African countries have also facilitated the return of their nationals.

Immigration crackdown

The proposed cost-recovery measure forms part of broader efforts by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration to tighten immigration enforcement.

In a national address on migration, Mr Ramaphosa said government agencies would intensify efforts to identify and deport undocumented foreign nationals residing illegally in the country, the BBC reported.

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“I must make it clear that only the authorised government officials may act against violations of the law, including violations of our immigration laws,” the president said.

South African authorities maintain that enforcing immigration laws is a matter of national sovereignty and have repeatedly defended deportations as lawful and necessary.

The new policy is expected to trigger discussions among African governments over migration management, diplomatic relations, and the financial implications of deportation.