The Department of Home Affairs has disclosed a concerning five-year snapshot of South Africa’s asylum system, revealing persistently high application volumes, sluggish processing times, and a strikingly low acceptance rate of asylum seekers.
In a written parliamentary reply to a question posed to Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber, the department provided a detailed breakdown of asylum applications by year, country of origin, processing durations, and outcomes. The data paints a picture of a system under significant strain, and potentially out of sync with its humanitarian obligations.
Application Trends and Origin Countries
Between the 2019 and 2024 financial years, the Department received a total of over 71,000 asylum applications. Numbers spiked dramatically in 2019 (26,453) and again in 2023 (20,456), before dropping to 7,086 in 2024, a decline that could reflect either improved border control, deterrent policies, or barriers in access to the asylum process.
Top countries of origin remain consistent: Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe dominate the asylum seeker pool. Ethiopia alone accounted for nearly 10,000 applications over five years.
This geographic spread reflects a combination of regional instability, economic hardship, and protracted conflicts, particularly in the Horn of Africa and Central Africa.
Perhaps most alarming is the protracted average time it takes for the department to finalise asylum decisions. According to the figures:
- 2019: 2,379 days (~6.5 years)
- 2020: 1,876 days
- 2021: 2,666 days
- 2022: 3,079 days (~8.4 years)
- 2023: 2,274 days
- 2024: 2,572 days
These averages suggest that thousands of asylum seekers remain in limbo for years, with many potentially left without legal status, work rights, or access to services, a bureaucratic purgatory that undermines both state credibility and migrant dignity.
Acceptance Rare, Appeals the Norm
From 2020 to 2024, only 933 asylum applications were approved, a mere 17% of the 5,516 rejections issued in the same period. This low recognition rate stands out globally, especially when compared to other nations grappling with similar migratory flows.
Meanwhile, 8,884 appeals were lodged over the same timeframe, and the Refugee Appeals Authority managed to finalise 14,400 appeals. However, the department failed to disclose the breakdown between appeals upheld and dismissed, leaving a critical gap in transparency.
The figures for 2024 are particularly telling: only 19 approvals were granted versus 1,704 rejections, suggesting either an extremely narrow definition of refugee status or systemic flaws in adjudication.
A System Under Pressure
The data points to an asylum system overwhelmed by volume, hampered by inefficiencies, and possibly losing sight of its core humanitarian mandate. With decisions taking several years and appeals saturating the system, critics are likely to ask whether South Africa is meeting its obligations under international refugee law.
Minister Schreiber, who assumed office with promises to reform Home Affairs, now faces mounting pressure to unclog processing pipelines, bolster institutional capacity, and inject both fairness and speed into decision-making.
