South African government spent R463 million to arrest and deport illegal immigrants

The South African government spent R463 million to detain, deport and repatriate undocumented foreign nationals between January and August 2026.

This was revealed by the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, in a response to a parliamentary question from National Assembly Member Siyabonga Mkhize.

Mkhize asked the Minister to disclose how many undocumented foreign nationals had been arrested and deported per country of origin since 1 January 2026.

He also asked Schreiber to disclose how much the government had spent on the detention and repatriation of these nationals, and how much of that cost had been recovered so far.

Schreiber revealed that South Africa had detained and deported 37,942 foreign nationals between 1 January and 31 August 2026, with a majority belonging to just four countries.

12,407 Zimbabweans were arrested and deported, followed by 10,725 Malawians, 9,548 Mozambicans, and 4,435 people from Lesotho.

This includes only foreign nationals detained and deported by his Department, not those from other law enforcement agencies, such as the South African Police Service.

According to Schreiber, these numbers also excluded a vast number of people who had been processed by the Department of Home Affairs for repatriation.

In terms of costs, Schreiber revealed that his Department had incurred R122.7 million in detention costs of undocumented foreign nationals between January and August.

In addition, the Department of Home Affairs also spent over R341.2 million on repatriation costs for foreign nationals, bringing the total expenditure to R463.9 million.

Schreiber explained that the Department did not incur any repatriation costs between 1 January and 31 May 2026, with all such costs occurring in June, July, and August.

“It is important to note that the Department has reimbursed the Cities of eThekwini and Cape Town for the buses provided,” Schreiber said.

“The claim from the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure for the cost of establishing and maintaining the Musina Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre has not been received.”

Schreiber said the repatriation costs had been fully borne by the South African government, and said engagements with these countries were ongoing to identify and return their nationals.

However, he said that these engagements did not necessarily mean that these countries would compensate the South African government for the costs of repatriation.

Mkhize’s question to the Minister was made in light of the recent wave of anti-immigration protests seen across South Africa during the middle of the year.

Led by the March and March movement, the protests culminated in a national shutdown on 30 June, with the government reportedly spending R306 million on peacekeeping on the day.