The Department of Home Affairs will introduce an online registration and appointment system for asylum seekers by 10 November following unrest linked to the processing of asylum applications.

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, announced the plan, today Sunday.

Under the proposed system, asylum seekers will register their intention to apply for asylum through an online platform. They will receive an electronic receipt containing their personal details, biometric information, a reference number and an appointment date at a Refugee Reception Office.

The receipt will not serve as a Section 22 asylum seeker visa or grant refugee status. However, it will provide proof that a person has declared an intention to seek asylum and trigger protection against being returned to a country where they could face persecution or other serious harm.

Officials and the Border Management Authority have been instructed not to arrest, detain or deport people solely because they do not have an asylum seeker visa if they hold a valid receipt while their applications are being processed.

Assisted registration will also be available at refugee reception offices. People in police or immigration detention will be able to request assistance from officials, legal representatives and civil society organisations.

The announcement follows the withdrawal of a directive issued on 28 September that instructed Home Affairs offices to accept asylum applications from people who had entered South Africa irregularly or failed to meet previous procedural requirements.

The directive was intended to implement a Constitutional Court ruling in the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town case, which struck down provisions that prevented people from accessing the asylum system on procedural grounds.

The directive was followed by a surge in applications at refugee reception offices, placing pressure on the department’s facilities. Anti-immigration protests in Soweto and Durban subsequently turned violent, with vehicles torched and businesses targeted. Authorities have reported 30 arrests linked to the unrest.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the new platform would build on existing digital systems, including biometric capture and verification technology used in the electronic travel authorisation process.

Government is also preparing to approach the courts for a supervisory order and potentially a suspension period to give the department time to strengthen its administrative capacity while complying with the Constitutional Court judgment.

Deportations will continue for people who have not declared an intention to apply for asylum and those whose asylum claims have been finally rejected.

Kubayi said the approach aims to meet South Africa’s constitutional obligations while ensuring that asylum applications are processed in an orderly manner and addressing public concerns.

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