Home Affairs will launch a phased online registration and appointment model for asylum applications by 10 November, as it responds to the Constitutional Court ruling and to mounting unrest and overwhelmed offices.
The move follows Home Affairs’ withdrawal of a 28 September directive that sparked widespread unrest, including arson in Soweto and Durban. The directive had allowed foreign nationals to submit asylum applications at Home Affairs offices, which were quickly overwhelmed.
Home Affairs maintains that withdrawing the directive does not change its commitment to comply with the ruling. The ruling allows foreign nationals to access processing centres whether or not they entered South Africa illegally.
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the inter-ministerial committee on migration, said asylum seekers will first register their intention to apply on an online platform. “A receipt will be issued online, with an appointment booked at refugee reception offices. Anyone who applies through this mechanism will include biometrics,” she said. A reference number and appointment date will also be issued.
Kubayi said the receipt is not refugee status or an asylum seeker visa. “It states that it is not a section 22 visa and not a recognition of a status,” she said. But it will serve as proof that a person declared an intention to apply for asylum, triggering protection under the law. “The receipt is the proof of that intention and the means by which the department operationalises the protection.”
