Call for more border resources

Individuals not arrested, but taken to the nearest port of entry.

- Jarryd Westerdale

The Border Management Authority (BMA) stopped several thousand foreign nationals from entering South Africa over the festive season.

The operational successes from early December to mid-January were presented to the portfolio committee on home affairs on Tuesday, with committee members saying more resources needed to be allocated for border security.

South Africa’s borders monitored just over five million travellers this past festive season, with roughly 60,000 trying to enter the country illegally.

OR Tambo International Airport saw just over one million people pass through its gates, with Beit Bridge and Ficksburg being the busiest land border crossings with over 600 000 and 400 000 travellers, respectively.

Between 10 December and 15 January, the BMA apprehended 58,394 migrants found to be in contravention of the Immigration Act.

This was more than double the amount from the previous year, when just over 27,000 illegal immigrants were caught during the same period in 2023-24.

The 2024-25 numbers comprised 50,312 undocumented migrants, 6,159 undesirable persons, and 1923 inadmissible persons. These individuals were not