South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs is in the middle of what Minister Leon Schreiber has repeatedly called the most far-reaching overhaul of the country’s citizenship, immigration and refugee protection system “in a generation.” Three strands of that overhaul are now concrete enough to affect foreigners directly: a Cabinet-approved policy blueprint that will become new citizenship and asylum legislation, a digital visa platform that is already replacing the old paper-based system, and an expanded fast-track visa scheme for companies that employ foreign critical-skills workers.
The legislative centrepiece is the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, which Cabinet approved on April 3, 2026 after a public consultation process that covered all nine provinces, according to the Department of Home Affairs’ own statement issued the following week. The department said it would now begin drafting the legislative amendments needed to give effect to the policy. Two changes stand out for foreigners already in the country or planning to come: a “First Safe Country Principle” that would make asylum seekers ineligible to claim refugee status in South Africa if they already hold protection elsewhere, or passed through other countries that have ratified the UN Refugee Convention on their way to South Africa; and a new points-based pathway to citizenship for naturalisation applicants, alongside an annual application window and a Citizenship Advisory Panel to assess cases, replacing a system based solely on years of residence. Children born in South Africa to at least one South African citizen parent remain automatically citizens under the new system; children of non-citizen parents still have to apply for naturalisation.
On the operational side, the department has been rolling out the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which Schreiber has described as its flagship immigration reform — not simply a digitised version of the old process, but a replacement for the country’s entire visa operating model, built on biometric verification and automated risk analysis. Speaking at the Xpatweb Annual Global Mobility Conference on July 21, 2026, Schreiber said the ETA, initially piloted for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico, had already processed more than 203,000 applications and flagged over 5,700 fraudulent ones, according to the South African Government News Agency (SAnews.gov.za). He said the platform would expand to more countries and visa categories, with study visas due to be added by the end of 2026, and that an extension module already lets qualifying visitors already in South Africa, including visa-exempt travellers, apply online for an additional 90 days.
For employers and skilled foreign workers, the department gazetted the second phase of its Trusted Employer Scheme (TES) on July 20, 2026, per Government Gazette No. 55036 published on the Department of Home Affairs’ own site. TES uses a risk-based approach to fast-track visa processing for accredited companies, letting them recruit foreign critical skills faster while the department still vets applications. Phase II widened eligibility beyond the original pilot to companies running strategic infrastructure projects, businesses setting up regional or global headquarters in South Africa, and qualifying financial-services firms; to qualify, companies must show meaningful investment in South Africa, employ mostly South African citizens or permanent residents, invest in skills development, and operate in priority sectors. Applications were independently assessed by an interdepartmental committee, with the expression-of-interest window running from July 20 to September 4, 2026.
The reforms also have an enforcement side that affects foreigners who overstay or work without authorisation. On July 6, 2026, the department announced it would recruit 301 additional Immigration Officers, raising its enforcement headcount from 868 to 1,169 — a 35% increase — which Schreiber called “one of the biggest investments in immigration enforcement capacity in years.” The department separately said it had been clearing a backlog of visa waiver and appeal applications, moving the process from paper files to a web-based system.
Asked about timing, Schreiber told SAnews.gov.za on July 22 that the government intends to introduce the legislative amendments implementing the Revised White Paper in Parliament “at the beginning of the next financial year” — i.e., around April 2027 — while the ETA and Trusted Employer Scheme continue to expand in the meantime under existing administrative powers. Until that legislation passes, the White Paper’s citizenship and asylum provisions remain policy direction rather than enacted law; the ETA, TES Phase II and officer-recruitment changes are already operational.
References
Department of Home Affairs (gov.za) – Minister Leon Schreiber Welcomes Cabinet Approval of Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection / South African Government News Agency (SAnews.gov.za) – Home Affairs Minister Directs Efforts to Reducing Red Tape, Digitalisation / South African Government News Agency (SAnews.gov.za) – Home Affairs Launches Digitalised Trusted Employer Scheme Phase II / Department of Home Affairs (dha.gov.za) – Government Gazette No. 55036: Invitation to Corporate Employers to Submit an Expression of Interest in Phase II of the Trusted Employer Scheme / Department of Home Affairs (gov.za) – Home Affairs Recruits 301 Additional Immigration Officers
