Home Affairs to Recruit 301 Additional Immigration Officers to Boost Enforcement

By Carli van Wyk
Spokesperson to the Minister of Home Affairs

The Department of Home Affairs is moving to strengthen immigration enforcement capacity by recruiting an additional 301 Immigration Officers across the country.

At present, the Department has only 868 Immigration Officers.

This limited capacity is expected to support immigration enforcement across the entire country.

Despite the severe resource constraints that the Department continues to face, reprioritisation work has been done to enable the recruitment of this cohort of additional Immigration Officers.

The increase from 868 to 1 169 officers will enhance enforcement capacity by 35%. This is being done in conjunction with other initiatives alongside National Treasury to secure additional resources to further boost digital transformation and capacity-building initiatives.

The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, said the recruitment drive forms part of the Department’s broader reforms to build a secure, digital and fit-for-purpose immigration system that serves the national interest.

The Minister said: “The Home Affairs @ home reforms are about building an immigration system that works from beginning to end.

That means using technology like the Electronic Travel Authorisation to strengthen the enforcement of lawful entry into South Africa, while also investing in the frontline officers who enforce our laws every day.”

Minister Schreiber concluded: “For too long, just 868 frontline Immigration Officers have been responsible for enforcing our immigration laws across the entire country.

By appointing 301 additional Immigration Officers, we are now making one of the biggest investments in immigration enforcement capacity in years, strengthening our ability to uphold the rule of law and protect the integrity of South Africa’s immigration system.