The government is pushing back against what it calls widespread misinformation about the Constitutional Court judgment on asylum applications.

Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration chairperson, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, says the ruling does not automatically grant asylum seekers refugee status, permanent residency or the right to vote in South Africa.

Her comments come amid renewed protests by anti-illegal immigration groups, including disruptions at the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre in Durban on Wednesday.

The protests followed the spread of claims online about the impact of the Constitutional Court’s July judgment in the matter involving the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and the Minister of Home Affairs.

The Court found that certain procedural barriers in the Refugees Act were unconstitutional because they could prevent people from accessing the asylum system before the state properly assessed their claims.

This includes people who entered South Africa irregularly, lacked an asylum transit visa, or failed to report to a Refugee Reception Office within the prescribed period.

The judgment has therefore reopened access to the asylum determination process for people who would previously have been excluded on these procedural grounds.

However, Kubayi stressed that access to the process does not mean an asylum claim will automatically be approved.

“The judgment does not grant refugee status or permanent residence automatically to anyone who enters South Africa, nor does it legalise unlawful migration.”

Asylum claims must still be assessed

The IMC says every applicant must go through the formal Refugee Status Determination Process.

Claims that are fraudulent, abusive, unfounded or fail to meet the requirements of the Refugees Act can still be rejected.

Government also retains the authority to enforce immigration laws, and people who do not qualify for refugee protection can face lawful deportation once the relevant legal processes have been completed.

Kubayi says government must respect the Constitutional Court judgment and allow people with legitimate asylum claims access to the system.

At the same time, she says this should not be interpreted as government tolerating illegal immigration.

No automatic voting rights

The IMC has also rejected claims that asylum seekers or refugees will automatically be granted voting rights.

The committee says people granted refugee status do not have the right to vote in South Africa under current law.

Government has also sought to allay concerns that ordinary Home Affairs services for South Africans will be overwhelmed by asylum applications.

The IMC says there are currently five Refugee Reception Centres in the country.

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Reception centres overwhelmed

The clarification follows an urgent IMC meeting on Wednesday night after large numbers of people arrived at Refugee Reception Offices following implementation of the Constitutional Court judgment.

Kubayi says all refugee offices were overwhelmed, with long queues reported outside Home Affairs facilities.

The government says it is now working on measures to deal with the operational challenges while ensuring that the Constitutional Court judgment is implemented.

The IMC says the key distinction is that access to the asylum system is not the same as being granted asylum.

Each claim must still be assessed individually, while South Africa remains bound by its legal obligations not to return people to countries where they could face persecution or serious harm.