The department says new processes have helped it make major progress in reducing longstanding refugee appeal backlogs.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber. Picture: Gallo Images/Beeld/Deaan Vivier
As scores of foreign nationals continue to return to their home countries in the wake of anti-illegal immigration protests, the department of home affairs says it has achieved the biggest reduction in the country’s refugee appeals backlog in years.
In a statement on Thursday, the department revealed that it reduced the active appeals caseload by more than 12% following a series of reforms at the Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa (RAASA).
Biggest backlog reduction in years
The caseload declined from 79 870 cases at the end of 2024 to 70 976 at the end of 2025, a reduction of 8 894 active appeals.
“From the ringfenced backlog of 133 582 appeals, a total of 19 064 cases were removed during the 2025/26 financial year, representing a 14.2% reduction,” the statement read.
“Cases were removed through appeal determinations, withdrawals, case finalisations and paper determinations where appellants failed to attend scheduled hearings.”
Home Affairs said the refugee appeals backlog accumulated over more than two decades, with many unresolved cases dating back to 2008.
The progress achieved during the past financial year, the department said, marks one of the most significant improvements in the performance of South Africa’s asylum appeals system in years.
Reforms boost asylum appeal efficiency
The improvements come after a comprehensive programme of reforms was implemented at RAASA, which operates under the department of home affairs.
This was done to “improve efficiency” and “accelerate the adjudication of appeals”.
According to the department, RAASA appointed 40 additional advocate members as part of increasing adjudication capacity, increased the number of appeal hearings scheduled each day, introduced targeted adjudication strategies for high-volume and less complex appeals, and strengthened performance management to improve productivity.
The authority also expanded collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to improve the quality and consistency of decisions.
Additional capacity rolled out
To strengthen capacity in the Western Cape – which has the country’s second largest refugee appeals caseload – RAASA is currently onboarding more advocates from the Cape Bar.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said while there is still a long way to go, efficiency gains have already produced a big feat for the department.
“The onboarding of additional capacity in partnership with the legal fraternity, as well as the recent judgement of the Constitutional Court against repeat applications, puts us on track to make further progress on this decades-old problem,” Schreiber said.
“Clearing these backlogs and ensuring more efficient processes is in the interest of both applicants and society at large. The reforms at RAASA are helping to restore integrity to the asylum system by expanding adjudication capacity, improving efficiency, and ensuring that genuine claims are resolved more quickly.”
He said the reform was another important step on the department’s reform journey towards building an immigration system that serves South Africa’s interests while upholding its constitutional and international obligations.
