Home Affairs proposes tighter asylum rules and merit-based citizenship system

Asylum seekers who have already been granted refugee status in another country will, in future, not be eligible to apply for similar protection in South Africa.

This is one of the proposals contained in a newly revised draft White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, published on Friday by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.

Schreiber also intends to introduce merit-based criteria for naturalisation and citizenship.

He said the proposed reforms are designed to clamp down on fraud and abuse while enhancing national security.

Rather than determining citizenship solely on the number of years a foreigner has lived in South Africa, future applications will be assessed according to a set of defined criteria.

A Citizenship Advisory Panel will objectively consider and advise on applications, while a points-based system will be used for those seeking citizenship through economic channels.

Applications for citizenship will only be accepted during an annual window period in an effort to prevent backlogs.

The new system willnot affect the existing principle that a child with at least one parent who is a South African citizen at the time of birth automatically becomes a citizen. Children born to non-South African parents will still be required to apply for naturalisation.

Meanwhile, a “first safe country” principle will apply to asylum seekers. This means that if applicants have passed through safe third countries before reaching South Africa, they will not be eligible for asylum in the country.

Following the introduction of new visa categories through Operation Vulindlela, the White Paper also proposes a new merit-based points system for certain visas and permanent residency.

In addition, the White Paper introduces civil registration reforms for births and deaths in preparation for the rollout of a digital identity system.

The public has until the end of January to make submissions on the White Paper, with public consultations across all provinces scheduled for mid-January.