- Undocumented foreigners arrested for deportation must now appear before a court within 48 hours.
- Courts will decide whether detention should continue or whether release conditions are appropriate.
- Immigration officers must first consider whether the interests of justice allow release before detention continues.
South Africa’s new Immigration Amendment Act now requires undocumented foreigners arrested for deportation purposes to appear before a court within 48 hours.
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Immigration Amendment Act on 11 May 2026. The law amends Section 34 of the Immigration Act of 2002 and changes how undocumented foreigners may be detained pending deportation.
Under the amendments, undocumented foreigners detained for deportation must be brought before a court in person within 48 hours of arrest, or on the next court day if the period expires outside ordinary court days.
The law removes earlier provisions that allowed immigration detention to continue without immediate court supervision. Courts will now decide whether continued detention is justified or whether release under reasonable conditions is appropriate.
Courts are now central to the detention process
Before detention continues, immigration officers must first interview the foreigner and consider whether the interests of justice permit release under reasonable conditions.
If immigration officials conclude that detention should continue, the detained person must be taken before a court. The court must then determine whether release is appropriate or whether detention should continue.
Where the court finds that release is justified, it may order release subject to reasonable conditions. If the court concludes that detention should continue, it may authorise detention for up to 30 calendar days.
If authorities want detention to continue beyond that period, the foreigner must again appear before a court before the detention expires. Courts may then authorise further detention for an additional period not exceeding 90 calendar days.
The amendments also require courts to consider representations from both immigration officials and the detained foreigner before making decisions on continued detention. Detained foreigners may make oral or written submissions before the court.
Stronger legal protections introduced
The amendments strengthen procedural protections for undocumented foreigners during detention and deportation processes.
Immigration officers are now required to inform detained foreigners of their rights, the reasons for their detention, their right to choose and consult a legal practitioner, and their right to legal representation at state expense where substantial injustice may otherwise result.
The law further requires that these rights be communicated in a language the detained person understands, where reasonably possible and practicable.
The amendments also make technical changes to the Immigration Act by replacing references to “Court” with “court” throughout the legislation.
The Immigration Amendment Act will come into operation on a date still to be announced by the President through a proclamation in the Government Gazette.
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
