Foreign Nationals Claim R23.3bn From RAF
Foreign nationals lodged 13,127 claims with the Road Accident Fund (RAF) worth a combined R23.32 billion over five years, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has told Parliament.
The claims were lodged between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2026. Creecy was responding to a parliamentary question from MP Sanele Mwali.
She said the RAF’s system does not distinguish between documented and undocumented foreign nationals, meaning the figures cover all foreign-related claims.
The total value of claims increased from R5.05 billion in the 2021/22 financial year to R8.53 billion in 2025/26.
Creecy stressed that the figures represent amounts claimed and not money actually paid out. Payments linked to these claims over the period amounted to about R6.33 billion.
The disclosure comes as the financially strained RAF faces a significant backlog of unpaid claims.
It also follows an April 2026 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that found foreign nationals, including those who are undocumented, cannot be excluded from claiming compensation under the RAF Act. The court found that the legislation applies to “any person” injured in a road accident, and that the RAF could not use administrative measures to exclude undocumented foreign nationals.
Any change to exclude undocumented foreign nationals would therefore require an amendment to the RAF Act by Parliament.
