South Africa remains a major destination for migrants from across the continent, even as a growing anti-immigration movement has placed the presence of foreign nationals under intense public scrutiny.
South Africa was recently the scene of nationwide protests, with demonstrators demanding stricter measures against undocumented migrants and accusing foreigners of taking jobs, contributing to crime, and placing pressure on public services.
The protests, which included episodes of looting and attacks on foreign-owned businesses, forced thousands of migrants to flee or temporarily shut down their operations. Against this backdrop, new data from South Africa's Department of Home Affairs shows that a significant share of foreign nationals in the country hold legal immigration status.
According to figures provided by the department in response to a parliamentary question, South Africa has 105,260 foreign nationals holding valid immigration permits.
The data covers permits recorded in the department's Visa Adjudication System (VAS) between 24 November 2014 and 24 August 2026, making it possible to identify the nationalities with the highest number of foreign nationals holding legal permits in the country.
Of the 105,260 registered permit holders, 56,614 are nationals of African countries, accounting for 53.8% of the total. The remainder originate from non-African countries.
The figures highlight the weight of migration from other African nations within South Africa's documented foreign population, in a climate shaped by debate over irregular immigration and mounting public pressure for tighter controls on the entry and stay of foreign nationals.
Below are the ten African countries with the highest number of foreign nationals holding valid immigration permits to reside in South Africa.
Zimbabwe Tops the List
The data shows that the largest group of foreign nationals holding valid immigration permits in South Africa comes from Zimbabwe, with 23,218 permit holders.
The Democratic Republic of Congo ranks second with 7,306, while Nigeria comes third with 5,242. Somalia follows with 3,961 and Ethiopia with 1,749.
The remaining countries in the top ten are Lesotho, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, and Eswatini.
The figures come as South Africa continues to reform its immigration system, with the government advancing the digitalisation of visa and permit issuance processes.
In August, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched the Electronic Travel Authorisation system, which uses biometric verification and automated risk analysis in an effort to make immigration processing more efficient and secure.
The Department of Home Affairs has also faced a backlog in the processing of visas and permits. In August, Parliament stated that the department was making progress in reducing those delays, although thousands of appeals remained pending.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=545124
