Almost 60,000 illegal immigrants intercepted trying to enter SA during festive - Home Affairs Dept

JOHANNESBURG - Almost 60,000 illegal immigrants were intercepted trying to enter South Africa during the festive season.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said this was an increase of over 200% from the previous period.

In 2024, the Border Management Authority (BMA) enhanced its operations across the country’s 71 ports of entry.

On Friday, Schreiber briefed the media in Pretoria on the outcomes of the festive season operation.

The number of illegal immigrants who attempted to enter the country during the festive season is 58,392.

According to the Home Affairs Minister, over 50,000 of them did not have any documentation at all.

READ: Over 120 illegal immigrants arrested in Joburg during Operation Shanela

Over 6,000 were found to have overstayed and almost 2,000 were refused entry because of fraudulent documents or failure to meet the country’s entry requirements.

“The number of attempted illegal border crossings by undocumented persons that were successfully prevented increased by 215% this past festive season. In 2023/24, 15,924 undocumented persons who tried to come into our country illegally were intercepted. In 2024/25, this number increased to 50,312.”

Schreiber added that over 130 arrests of wanted criminals were also conducted and illicit goods that included R690 million worth of illegal cigarettes were seized.

Festive travel

Over 5 million travellers moved in and out of South Africa over the 2024/25 festive season. 

This marked an increase of 51,000 more people compared to the previous year. 

OR Tambo International Airport facilitated the movement of the highest number of travellers followed by the Beitbridge border. 

However, officials highlighted that the high number of travellers is still less than the nearly 6 million during pre-covid times. 

"These movements were generally efficient, with 66% of imports and 74% of exports cleared within 30 minutes – although this is an area that can be improved upon through automated procedures. The top 10 ports of entry, which include OR Tambo International Airport, Beitbridge, and Lebombo, accounted for 81% of all processed movements, highlighting the strategic importance of these border posts," said Schreiber.