Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber has revealed that 109,735 undocumented foreign nationals were arrested and deported in South Africa between the 2021/2022 and 2025/2026 financial years.

The information was provided in a written parliamentary reply to MK Party MP Mnqobi Prince Msezane, who requested details on undocumented migrants living and working in the country.According to Schreiber, the department carried out 6,279 workplace inspections and enforcement operations during the five-year period.Authorities also charged 8,180 employers for hiring foreign nationals without valid work permits.The minister said the inspections were intelligence-driven and supported by rapid-response operations following reports of immigration violations.

To strengthen enforcement, the department plans to introduce handheld mobile devices that will allow immigration officials to access departmental systems remotely while conducting field operations.The technology is intended to speed up the verification of immigration status and increase arrests of people found to be in the country illegally.Schreiber also highlighted the penalties imposed on employers who violate immigration laws.During nationwide inspections conducted last year, 68 employers and 322 undocumented foreign workers were found to be non-compliant.Each employer paid an admission of guilt fine of R10,000, resulting in total fines of R680,000.The undocumented workers were handed over to immigration authorities for further processing.The Eastern Cape recorded the highest number of offending employers, while Limpopo had the largest number of undocumented workers arrested.

The minister further disclosed that between April 2023 and March 2024, the department processed 6,255 work permit applications and rejected most of them.Zimbabwean nationals received the highest number of approved permits, followed by applicants from Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia.