South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that foreign nationals may not submit repeat asylum applications once their initial claims have been rejected.
The ruling, delivered in the matter of Director‑General, Department of Home Affairs and Others v Irankunda and Another, overturns a Supreme Court of Appeal decision that had allowed two Burundian nationals to reapply for asylum four years after their first applications were denied.
The apex court found that permitting unlimited reapplications without a legislative framework would create what it called a “never‑ending cycle” that undermines deportation processes and places unsustainable pressure on the asylum system.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber welcomed the judgment as a major step towards curbing what he described as abuse of the refugee regime and restoring order to immigration management.
The case centred on two Burundians who sought to lodge new asylum applications in 2018, arguing that political violence during Burundi’s 2015 election constituted new grounds for protection.
While the Supreme Court of Appeal had ruled in their favour, the Constitutional Court reversed that decision, confirming that once an asylum claim has been finally determined, no further applications may be made.
The ruling comes as South Africa hosts more than 167,000 refugees and asylum seekers, according to the UN Refugee Agency, with most originating from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
JN/APA