South Africa: Refugee determination system in South Africa including access to refugee status, procedures, temporary permits and whether South Africa is a signatory to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZAF30027.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, South Africa: Refugee determination system in South Africa including access to refugee status, procedures, temporary permits and whether South Africa is a signatory to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, 1 September 1998, ZAF30027.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abfb5c.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In a letter to the Research Directorate, the Coordinator of the Southern African Migration Project (SAMP), in Cape Town, South Africa, stated that before 1992, South Africa did not have a refugee determination system. Rather, it applied the outdated Aliens Control Act of 1937 which made no provision for refugees (9 Sept. 1998). SAMP "is an international network of research institutions and non-governmental organizations devoted to developing creative, humane and workable responses to cross-border migration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) (Crossings Sept. 1997, 2).
After 1992, South Africa developed an "ad hoc" refugee system to deal with the "new" situation of incoming refugees. The government is in the process of developing refugee laws, and it is anticipated that they will be passed before the end of 1998.
The procedure is long and involves a claimant declaring himself/herself at the Home Affairs Office. The claimant is then given an appointment for a personal interview with an Immigration Officer, which takes place a few months after the application. The Immigration Officer will then refer the case to a "decision-making" committee, which makes the final decision. The process does not involve an oral hearing and a claimant can wait up to four or five years for an answer.
In the meantime, a claimant is issued with a Section 41 permit entitled "Temporary Permit for a Prohibited Person." In theory, this allows the claimant to work, but since it also stipulates that he or she is a "prohibited person," but in practice it limits her chances of getting employment. Furthermore, refugee claimants are not given any kind of "material" assistance and the Department of Home Affairs recently issued a statement saying that those claimants who lose their temporary permits will not be issued with new ones.
When asylum is granted, the claimant is issued with a "refugee status permit" renewable after a year or two. If the decision is negative, the claimant has the right of appeal. The appeal will be referred to an Appeal Board composed of two people with no legal background. Should the appeal be unsuccessful, the claimant will be given 21 days in which to leave South Africa.
The coordinator cautioned that the system is "inadequate" in many respects, and the decisions are often "erratic." For example, the interpreters used in the Home Office are usually from the claimant's home region and there is no guarantee of neutrality or accuracy in their interpretations, which has led to omission of "crucial information." Sometimes decisions rendered by the Home Affairs Office are based on change of circumstances in the claimant's country of origin without due consideration of an individual's specific circumstances, and in some cases refugee status has been withdrawn without explanation and replaced with asylum-seeking permits.
South Africa is a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention and the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees (Country Reports 1997, 1998, 321; United Nations 1998). Country Reports also states that in 1997, over 17,000 people registered for refugee status; out of these, 30 per cent received refugee status "which confers work and study privileges" (1998, 321).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 1998. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Crossings. September 1997. Jonathan Crush. "Making Aliens Human." Vol. 1. No. 1.
Southern African Migration Project, Cape Town. 9 September 1998. Letter to the Research Directorate.
United Nations. 1998. International Instruments Chart of Ratifications as of 31 December 1997. Geneva/New York: United Nations.
