South Africa Repatriates Nigerians and Bills Foreign Governments for Deportations

The South African government is conducting a broad crackdown on illegal migration, starting with the repatriation of 586 Nigerian nationals. The Department of Home Affairs coordinated the first flight on June 11, 2026, with a second scheduled for June 15. All repatriated individuals have been declared undesirable persons and are barred from re-entering South Africa for five years.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading this enforcement agenda, which includes forming immigration courts to expedite expulsions and potentially jailing those who employ illegal migrants. To shift the financial burden away from taxpayers, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation announced it will now bill foreign governments, including Nigeria and Ghana, for the costs of arresting, housing, and transporting their nationals.

While South Africa reports a 46% increase in deportations over two years, the situation is complicated by rising xenophobia. Approximately 1,000 Nigerians are seeking voluntary repatriation due to violent anti-immigrant protests and physical assaults. In response, the Nigerian government is providing financial aid and mobile phone credit to returnees as they are distributed across Nigeria's 36 states.