South Africa to revoke 2,000 fraudulently obtained visas after daming investigation in Home Affairs

South Africa is preparing to revoke more than 2,000 visas flagged as potentially fraudulent, as the government intensifies a sweeping crackdown on corruption within the Department of Home Affairs.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said authorities are reviewing administrative processes to cancel visas believed to have been issued through corrupt networks that manipulated the country’s immigration system.

“We’re looking at administrative processes to potentially revoke over 2,000 visas that may have come fraudulently out of this kind of work,” Schreiber said.

The move follows a wide-ranging probe by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which uncovered recurring schemes involving document fraud, irregular visa and work permit approvals, and facilitation networks enabling unauthorised entry into South Africa.

Investigation revelations

Schreiber told a media briefing in Pretoria that disciplinary action has already been taken against dozens of officials implicated in serious maladministration.

“We also have 275 criminal referrals out of this work, 111 investigations that have been closed,” says Schreiber.

Since April last year, 20 Home Affairs officials have been dismissed and 16 suspended. In total, more than 55 officials have been dismissed since July 2024. Authorities have also made 275 criminal referrals, while 111 investigations have been finalised. Several disciplinary processes remain ongoing.

South Africa’s immigration system was exploited for years by a small group of officials who enriched themselves by taking payments in exchange for issuing visas and residence permits, a government investigation said on Monday.

The investigation, which found immigration had been "treated as a marketplace", was ordered by President Cyril Ramaphosa and examined corruption involving visa issuance from 2004 to 2024, before the current coalition government took power.

Beyond individual accountability, the government says it is working to tighten immigration controls and close loopholes that enabled the fraud.

Proceeds from corruption

The dismissed officials were not named, but four of them received a total of over 16 million rand ($1 million) in direct deposits, said a statement by the state's Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

One built a mansion, while others purchased multiple properties in cash, it said.

"These findings show that corruption in the visa system is not incidental; it is organised, deliberate, and devastating to public trust," the SIU said.

It said it had "uncovered a disturbing reality: South Africa’s immigration system has been treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder."

Applications were routinely sent via WhatsApp for expedited approval, after which payments were made to the spouses of the officials, it said. In other cases, cash was hidden in application forms.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said his department was working to stop fraud primarily through digitising its systems.

It is in the process of migrating to an electronic travel authorization platform.

"It is only through the systemic reform anchored in digital transformation and the use of modern technology that we can definitively close the space for corruption," he said.

The SIU said it had made 275 criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority. Schreiber said 20 home affairs officials had been dismissed since April last year.