Home Affairs officials took kickbacks for fraudulent visas
Home Affairs officials allegedly took kickbacks from foreign nationals to ignore fraudulent supporting documents and approve visas for applicants who did not qualify, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has revealed.
The SIU confirmed that 205 visas have been flagged for revocation and deportation after being obtained using fraudulent supporting documents. It has also made seven disciplinary referrals, including against employees who have since left the Department of Home Affairs.
SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho said the investigation remains ongoing, with the possibility of further officials being implicated.
“As more employees are implicated and identified, the SIU will make the necessary referrals in due course.”
The revelations follow the SIU’s investigation into serious maladministration, fraud and corruption in Home Affairs’ immigration and visa processes. The probe, authorised under Proclamation 154 of 2024, covers almost two decades of visa and permit administration and has examined categories including work, study, business, critical-skills and permanent-residence applications.
An interim report presented to Parliament earlier this year exposed widespread weaknesses in the department’s immigration processes, including fraudulent documentation, compromised officials and gaps in the systems meant to screen applicants.
The latest findings now provide a detailed account of how those weaknesses were allegedly exploited from inside the department.
Asked how fraudulent documents were able to pass through the system, the SIU said Home Affairs adjudicators responsible for verifying applicants’ supporting documents “simply did not conduct any verification”.
The SIU said the failure to conduct the required checks was allegedly linked directly to corruption.
“This lack of verification was largely motivated by kickbacks received by the officials from foreign nationals to ignore fraudulent supporting documents and grant visas to undeserving foreign nationals,” Makgotho said.
The findings come months after Parliament raised concerns about corruption within Home Affairs and the integrity of its immigration processes.
In March, the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs condemned “the large-scale corruption” involving officials allegedly working “in cahoots with external criminal syndicates to sell documents, including visas”.
The committee warned that such corruption undermines national security, governance and the rule of law, while also raising concerns about the consequences for border integrity and pressure on public resources and services.
A major concern identified by the committee was the department’s fragmented technology infrastructure. It said “the lack of integration between critical departmental system interfaces” was hampering investigations and called for Home Affairs to accelerate its digital transformation programme.
The latest SIU response reinforces that concern, identifying technology and automation as key measures to close the gaps that allegedly allowed fraudulent applications to be approved.
The unit said its recommendations to Home Affairs were broad and focused on reducing human intervention through technology and automated systems. The SIU also recommended greater integration between Home Affairs and other government departments to allow verifications to be conducted automatically.
“Furthermore, the SIU recommended system integration with other departments to ensure that verifications are automated,” the unit said.
“This contrasts with the current process, where verifications are conducted manually or, in some cases, not performed at all.”
The SIU revealed that it has made administrative referrals to Home Affairs and criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority. It said it was holding regular meetings with both institutions to manage the risk of foreign nationals facing criminal charges being deported before their cases are finalised.
“The Department of Home Affairs has flagged the foreign nationals against whom the SIU made adverse findings to ensure that no further visas are issued to the implicated individuals,” the SIU said.
The seven disciplinary referrals are also progressing. The SIU said it was providing litigation support to Home Affairs and that disciplinary proceedings had been initiated and were “currently at an advanced stage”.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber previously acknowledged the vulnerability created by the department’s manual processes.
At the release of the SIU interim report, Schreiber said: “Perhaps the single most extraordinary and important finding of the SIU’s work, is that the bulk of the malfeasance was allegedly committed by a handful of officials.”
He said the officials had exploited loopholes in the manual visa system.
“As confirmed by the SIU, it is paper-based and manual processes that have long created space for crooked officials to overlook fraudulent documents or approve applications that do not meet the relevant regulatory requirements,” Schreiber said.
Schreiber also said Home Affairs had identified more than 2 000 study visas that were fraudulently issued through syndicates, with administrative processes under way to cancel them.
He said disciplinary proceedings against implicated officials were continuing and announced that 20 officials had already been dismissed since April 2025. The minister has since promoted digital transformation as a key measure to reduce opportunities for manipulation of visa applications.
The Department of Home Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.
