General information about refugees and asylum seekers
Qualifying for refugee status / asylum
Applying for refugee / asylum status
Losing your refugee status
The Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs
Refugee Appeal Board

General information about refugees and asylum seekers

Whenever you come into South Africa (whether by land, sea or air), you have to have valid documents (like a passport and a permit or visa) to prove you are legally allowed to be in the country.

However, there is a growing category of people often called refugees or asylum seekers. This group of people may not have the required legal documents to be in South Africa and can, therefore, apply for refugee status to give them legal standing in the country.

Usually, refugees or asylum seekers are people who have been forced to leave their country of origin for various reasons (for example; war, violent political unrest or genocide). Having a refugee status means that the person has the protection of the South African government and cannot be forced to return home until it is deemed safe to do so. People who have refugee status can access most of the same rights as South African citizens (except the right to vote).

South Africa did not recognise refugees until 1993. Subsequently the country became a signatory to the United Nations (UN) and Organisation of African Unit (AU), and implemented a new Refugees Act in 1998 (become effective in 2000).

South Africa does not have any refugee camps so asylum seekers and refugees live mainly in urban regions and survive largely without assistance.

South Africa grants refugee status according to the following:

• 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (28 July 1951)
• 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (31 January 1967)
• Basic Agreement between the Government of South Africa and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. ( 6 September 1993)
• 1969 OAU Convention Governing The Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa

Qualifying for refuge status / asylum

To qualify for refugee status / asylum, you must be able to present evidence that your life was in danger due to persecution as a result of your race, tribe, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group; or if there is war in your country. No other reasons exist to apply for refugee status or asylum status.

A refugee can apply for permanent residence after five years of continuous residence from the date of asylum being granted. Only recognised refuges can apply for a South African ID book. Your application must be adjudicated within 180 days of application (including an appeal period).

Applying for refugee / asylum-seeker status

• You can only apply for refugee status or asylum at the designated Refugee Reception Centres managed by the Department of Home Affairs.
• A Refugee Reception Centre officer will assist you to complete the Eligibility Determination Form (BI-1590)
• There is NO CHARGE for applying for asylum in South Africa
• As part of your application you will have to have your fingerprints taken
• You will be interviewed by a Refugee Reception Centre officer and if you qualify, you will then be issued with an asylum seeker’s permit - often referred to as a Section 22 permit which will allow you to stay in South Africa. Remember that
  • this permit does not recognise you as a refugee or asylum seeker, it is simply proof that you have applied for refugee or asylum status
  • you must keep this permit on you at all times
  • Section 22 permits are often valid for one to three months at a time, so you will have to regularly renew your permit until your application has been approved
• The conditions of your permit are subject to the discretion of the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs
• You will need to attend a second interview, called a Status Determination hearing, which will be done by a Refugee Status Determination officer
• After this interview, your Section 22 permit will be renewed and date-stamped and you will be given a date on which you can check back at the refugee office to get the news of the final decision on your application
• If you application is approved, you will be given a Section 24 permit which officially recognises you as a refugee in South Africa. The Section 24 permit is valid for a period of two years and it has to be renewed no less than 3 months prior to the expiry date Once you have a Section 24 permit, you can then apply for a refugee ID document and a travel document. A refugee ID document is a maroon covered book that contains, among other things, your name and picture.

If your application is rejected as manifestly unfounded, your case will automatically be referred to Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs (SCRA). You then have 14 days within which to present your case to SCRA as to why the SCRA should not uphold the decision of the Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO).

If you fail to present your case to the SCRA and the decision of the RSDO is confirmed by SCRA, then you are in the country illegally and will be deported.

However, if you still feel that your application rejection is unfounded you then have 30 days within which to lodge an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Board through the Refugee Reception Office. Should you fail to appeal within 30 days you will be deported and may be arrested and kept in detention while awaiting deportation.

Losing your refugee status

You can lose your refugee or asylum status if:

• You leave the country without the permission of the Minister of Home Affairs
• You contravene any conditions of your permit
• Your application was fraudulent, unfounded or abusive
• Your application for asylum has been rejected; or
• You are ineligible for asylum (in terms of Section 4 and Section 5 of the Refugees Act of 1998).

The Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs

The Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs is appointed by the Minister. Its duties are to:

• formulate and implement procedures for the granting of asylum
• regulate and supervise the work of the Refugee Reception Centres
• liaise with representatives of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) or any non-governmental organisation
• advise the Minister or Director General on any matter referred to it by them
• review decisions made by the Refugee Status Determination Officers in respect of manifestly unfounded applications
• decide on any matter of law referred to it by a refugee status determination officer
• monitor the decisions of the Refugee Status Determination Officers
• determine the conditions relating to working or studying in South Africa under which an asylum seeker’s permit may be issued.

Refugee Appeal Board

The Refugee Appeal Board is an independent body that was established in terms of section 12(1) of the Refugees Act 1998.  
An Appeal Board for Refugee Affairs was originally established following an agreement between the Republic of South Africa and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The purpose of the Board was to consider all the appeals made against the decisions of the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs. A chairperson for the Board was appointed on 6 September 1995 as the sole member of the Board.  On 1 April 2000 the Refugees Act (No 130 of 1998) was promulgated and this Act established the current Appeal Board.

The Appeal Board consists of a Chairperson and five members duly appointed by the Minister of Home Affairs. The members of the Appeal Board are appointed for a period of five years in terms of the Act.
The mandate of the Refugee Appeal Board is contained in section 14(1) of the Refugees Act 130 of 1998 and is as follows:

• To hear and determine any question of law referred to it in terms of the Act
• To hear and determine any appeal lodged in terms of the Act
• To advise the Minister of Home Affairs or Standing Committee regarding any matter which they refer to the Appeal Board
• The Board’s mandate includes its role as an independent statutory Appeal Board with quasi–judicial functions to either sustain, substitute or set aside a decision of the Status Determination Officer

The mission of the Appeal Board is to make well reasoned, timely decisions on appeal, and carry out its mandate efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the Act determining refugee status, on behalf of all South Africans and all Appellants.

The Appeal Board strives to create confidence in its system and excel in everything it does.  Its objective is to meet its obligations as defined in the Refugees Act 130 of 1998 and in terms of the relevant conventions including inter alia:

• 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees
• 1967 Protocol to the Convention
• 1969 OAU Convention governing aspects of refugee problems in Africa
• Other International Conventions 

The Refugee Affairs Appeal Board has four main priorities:

• To improve the processing time for appeals
• To reduce the number of claims in the pending inventory
• To strengthen the case management process
• To deal with current appeals whilst simultaneously working towards the systematic reduction of the pending caseload to realistic levels

The critical challenge acknowledged by the Board is placing the greatest emphasis in terms of its approach to grant protection to those who comply with the relevant provisions of the Conventions; and denying those who merely use the protection regime for economic motives or manifestly unfounded reasons.