The Department of Home Affairs deported 46 898 illegal immigrants in the 2024/25 financial year ending 31 March 2025, representing an 18% increase compared to the previous financial year.
The department revealed it deported 39 672 people in 2023/24, and attributed the increase to improved collaboration between stakeholders, among others.
“This marked increase in the effectiveness of enforcement operations demonstrates our commitment to upholding the rule of law. It also flows from improved collaboration between the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and local law enforcement. It further reflects the impact of joint initiatives like Operation Vala Umgodi,” Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the department, “this is the highest number of deportations carried out in at least five years.”
In the five months between April and end August last year, the Department of Home Affairs deported 19 750 people at a cost of R52 million, Schreiber revealed in a parliamentary reply, equating to R2 670 per person.
In 2022/23, 10 808 people were deported, with the majority (7 393) being from Zimbabwe, followed by Malawi (3 020), Tanzania (159), and Nigeria (86).
Last month, the department announced a comprehensive upgrade to its digital verification system, a crucial component of national security, as well as both public and private sector services in South Africa.
The verification system enables government departments, including National Treasury and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), as well as financial sector businesses, to confirm client identities using biometric features, such as fingerprints and facial recognition, against the National Population Register.
“This improved performance, coupled with our digital transformation reforms that will automate entry-and-exit to prevent people from entering the country illegally through our ports of entry, is contributing to enhanced national security and trade facilitation,” the Minister said.
