Green paper on international migration in South Africa

The Department of Home Affairs has published the Green paper on international migration in South Africa for public comment. It is accompanied by Guidelines for public consultation. "The Green Paper argues that the current international migration policy must be replaced as it does not enable SA to adequately embrace global opportunities while safeguarding our sovereignty and ensuring public safety and national security.

National thinking and attitudes to international migration are currently influenced by an unproductive debate between those who call for stricter immigration controls and those who call for controls to be relaxed. The discourse is in general characterised by strong emotions, stereotypes and contested statistics. Discussions are usually limited by “us and them” thinking that either sets in opposition the rights of immigrants to the rights of citizens and the state; or focuses on either our domestic or our global interests.

SA has not yet built a consensus at policy, legislative and strategic levels on how to manage international migration for development. What is proposed in the Green Paper is that by adopting a managed migration approach we can work together to achieve common goals."