As thousands of foreign nationals leave South Africa amid anti-immigration protests, a group of South Africans has been deported from Ireland.
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The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), part of the national police (An Garda Síochána) in Ireland, confirmed that 42 South Africans were deported last Thursday, following an order by the Minister of Justice.
The group consisted of 27 adults (including nine men and 18 women) and 15 children.
“The juveniles removed were all part of family groups,” said the Garda National Immigration Bureau in a statement.
The group is said to have been in the country illegally.
They boarded a charter flight from Dublin and arrived in Johannesburg in the early hours of Friday morning. The deportation is said to have cost €735,000 (roughly R13.8 million).
A further deportation flight left Dublin yesterday and landed safely this morning in Johannesburg, South Africa. There were 42 South African people on board who had received but not complied with Deportation Orders.
— Jim O’Callaghan TD (@OCallaghanJim) June 19, 2026
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has confirmed the arrival of the deportees, with spokesperson Thulani Mavuso advising that “we are talking to the Irish government”. Mavuso did not go into further detail.
Their deportation forms part of a larger-scale immigration enforcement programme in Ireland and is the fourth such deportation since the start of 2026. Ireland’s Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration said 130 people were deported in the previous operations. Citizens in the European Union were also deported “on grounds of criminality”, said the Irish authority.
“In 2025, 4,700 deportation orders were signed, an increase of 96% compared to 2024. To date this year 2,108 deportation orders have been signed.”
Forty-two South African nationals, including 15 children, have been deported from Ireland on the latest Government charter flight.
More than 170 people have been removed from the country so far this year.
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— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) June 19, 2026
Among the South Africans recently deported, the GNIB noted that two had been convicted of offences in the country.
“An Garda Síochána continues to work closely with the Department of Justice in implementing immigration policy and the Irish Prison Service in the implementation of these operations.”
Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said applying the law is necessary to ensure public confidence and added that the majority of South Africans living in Ireland were there legally.
“The vast majority of South African nationals are legally resident in the State and positively contribute to society,” said O’Callaghan in a statement.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy stressed that migrants must enter the country legally.
“It is necessary to recognise that Ireland welcomes migrants as they play an important role in our economic, social, and community life. However, they must enter through the various legal pathways available and abide by the laws of the State,” said Brophy.
Irish authorities said further charter deportation operations would be conducted throughout 2026.
