South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber has opened a nationwide public consultation process on a proposed overhaul of the country’s citizenship, immigration and refugee protection laws.
The Draft Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection was published in the Government Gazette on Friday, December 12, following Cabinet approval, inviting written submissions from the public until January 31, 2026.
The policy review comes as Pretoria moves to reshape its migration framework for the first time in decades. According to the Department of Home Affairs, the revised document updates the existing White Paper by reviewing earlier proposals and adding detail aligned to the priorities of the Government of National Unity, the visa review conducted under Operation Vulindlela and the department’s digital transformation programme.
The proposed reforms seek to curb fraud and abuse within the system, strengthen national security, improve service delivery and support economic growth. For Eswatini, which shares close economic and social ties with South Africa, the changes are likely to affect cross border movement, labour migration and asylum processes.
One of the major proposals relates to refugee management. The draft introduces a refined First Safe Country Principle, which would bar asylum seekers from applying in South Africa if they have already received protection in another country or passed through countries deemed safe. The minister would be required to designate safe third countries annually, focusing on states that have ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention. Government would also pursue bilateral agreements to share the regional migration burden more evenly across sub Saharan Africa, in line with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees route based approach.
Citizenship reforms outlined in the document introduce a merit based pathway to naturalisation. These include an annual application window to reduce backlogs, the establishment of a Citizenship Advisory Panel to review applications, and a points based system linked to economic contribution. The existing rule granting automatic citizenship to children with at least one South African parent at birth would remain, while children born to foreign parents would still be required to apply for naturalisation.
On immigration, the draft proposes changes aimed at aligning visas with economic priorities and digital systems. New visa categories are planned for remote workers, start ups, skilled workers, sports and culture. Corporate visas would be replaced with sector specific work visas, while a points based system would be applied to certain visas and permanent residence. The policy also supports the rollout of an Electronic Travel Authorisation system to capture biometric data for all foreign nationals.
Civil registration reforms form another pillar of the White Paper. These focus on transforming South Africa’s National Population Register into a digitally enabled Intelligent Population Register, using technologies such as biometrics, artificial intelligence and real time data integration. The system would underpin a future Digital ID framework and support mandatory digital registration of births and deaths for both citizens and residents.
The public consultation period runs from December 12, 2025 to January 31, 2026. Public meetings are scheduled across all nine South African provinces between January 15 and January 30, alongside a national stakeholder session involving government, business, labour, civil society, academia and international partners.
Written submissions can be sent by email to Whitepaper@dha.gov.za or by post to the Director General, Department of Home Affairs, Private Bag X114, Pretoria, 0001. The draft White Paper is available through the Government Gazette and the Department of Home Affairs website.
