Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs exposes asylum loophole as migration crisis deepens
MPs are planning oversight visits to refugee reception centres and an urgent joint meeting with key ministers to address operational capacity and slow legislative reform.
Seeking asylum does not automatically grant refugee status, according to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs.
The committee welcomed the Department of Home Affairs’ withdrawal of directives that followed a Constitutional Court judgment on asylum seekers.
It noted that applicants must still undergo the prescribed process to determine status, as wanting asylum does not mean automatic refugee status.
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Committee plans oversight visits
The committee will consider an oversight visit to refugee reception centres, and civil society organisations will be given an opportunity to engage members on the subject.
It also resolved to call an urgent in-person meeting to examine how the judgment is being implemented. The department, led by the director-general, must evaluate the situation and produce a broader operational plan.
That joint meeting must include the ministers of Home Affairs and Employment and Labour, relevant parliamentary committees, the department’s immigration branch, the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa.
Cabinet urged to speed up draft bill
The committee has long held that South Africans come first and that their concerns are legitimate. During the sixth administration, it initiated a review of migration laws, which the then minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, carried out.
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Chairperson Mosa Chabane said the committee associates with the concerns raised, but implementation must stay within the Constitution. He expressed concern about the slow pace of reform regarding citizenship, immigration, and refugee legislation.
“It is time that Cabinet must demonstrate urgency on their part and speed up the draft bill to allow South Africans an opportunity to contribute to determining the path the country must take,” Chabane said. “We require a proper account of the process and clear timeframes for when the draft bill will reach Parliament.”
Capacity and caseload concerns
The committee also requested detailed information on the capacity of the Refugee Appeals Authority and reception offices, including asylum and appeals caseloads, staffing constraints, and concerns about applicants who may be sought for prosecution in their countries of origin.
It repeated unease about an individual who sits on both the immigration board advising the minister and at the Scalabrini Centre.
On October 10, the committee was briefed by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the BMA on their 2025/26 annual reports.
It commended the IEC’s consistent performance and clean audit, as well as the BMA’s improved unqualified audit after a qualified outcome, despite severe resource constraints.
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