South Africa's Department of Home Affairs has recorded an 18% increase in deportations in the 2024/25 financial year. Picture: Independent Newspaper Archives
Image: Independent Newspaper Archives
The Department of Home Affairs has intensified its efforts to deal with illegal immigration and deported 46 898 individuals in the 2024/25 financial year.
This is an 18% increase from the previous year’s 39,672 and the highest figure in at least five years. Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, attributed the sharp increase to strengthened collaboration between government agencies.
“This marked increase in the effectiveness of enforcement operations demonstrates our commitment to upholding the rule of law,” he said. “It also flows from improved collaboration between the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, the South African Police Service, and local law enforcement.”
South Africa’s deportation figures now exceed those of European countries with some of the highest removal rates, he said.
“The fact that Home Affairs now conducts more than double the number of deportations compared to a country like France, which has the highest rate of deportations in the European Union, sends a clear message to offenders that the days of impunity are over,” Schreiber stated.
Government data shows that deportations have more than tripled over the past five years. The Department removed 14,859 illegal immigrants in 2020/21, increasing to 20,093 in 2021/22 and 22,560 in 2022/23. A significant surge was recorded in 2023/24 with 39,672 deportations, before reaching the current record high.
Schreiber emphasised that the government’s efforts are not just about enforcement but also about securing the country’s borders through modernisation.
“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,” he said.