Some South African officials got rich selling visas and residency permits, probe finds

One official builds a mansion, others buy multiple properties in cash

South Africa’s immigration system was exploited for years by a small group of officials who enriched themselves by taking payments in exchange for issuing visas and residence permits, a government investigation said on Monday.

The investigation, which found immigration had been "treated as a marketplace", was ordered by President Cyril Ramaphosa and examined corruption involving visa issuance from 2004 to 2024, before the current coalition government took power.

The officials were not named, but four of them received a total of over 16 million rand ($1 million) in direct deposits, said a statement by the state's Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

One built a mansion, while others purchased multiple properties in cash, it said.

"These findings show that corruption in the visa system is not incidental; it is organised, deliberate, and devastating to public trust," the SIU said.

It said it had "uncovered a disturbing reality: South Africa’s immigration system has been treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder."

Applications were routinely sent via WhatsApp for expedited approval, after which payments were made to the spouses of the officials, it said. In other cases cash was hidden in application forms.

South Africa's paper‑based immigration system has long been criticised as slow and vulnerable to corruption, with applicants paying bribes to fast‑track decisions or bypass requirements.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said his department was working to stop fraud primarily through digitising its systems. It is in the process of migrating to an electronic travel authorization platform.

"It is only through the systemic reform anchored in digital transformation and the use of modern technology that we can definitively close the space for corruption," he said.

The SIU said it had made 275 criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority. Schreiber said 20 home affairs officials had been dismissed since April last year.

Corruption across government sectors has contributed to the declining popularity of Ramaphosa's African National Congress party in recent years, and he has repeatedly pledged to crack down.