The African National Congress, South Africa's governing party, has urged the government to review the country's immigration quotas, as anti-migrant protests continue to spread across several provinces, Jacaranda FM reported.

The call places the country's quota system on the political agenda at a moment when xenophobic sentiment has moved from the streets into mainstream political debate. The available summary does not identify a deadline, a Cabinet response or a date for any review.

What does the ANC want reviewed?

The party's request targets the annual numerical limits the Department of Home Affairs sets for work visas, study permits and refugee admissions. South Africa's Immigration Act 13 of 2002 and the Refugees Act 130 of 1998 provide the legal framework, and a Government Gazette notice sets the actual caps each year.

Quotas typically cover categories such as critical-skills visas, general work visas, intra-company transfers and business permits. Asylum processing follows separate procedural rules but is tied to the broader admissions flow.

What is driving the political pressure?

Anti-migrant protests in South Africa in 2024 have included mass demonstrations, the closure of shops owned by foreign nationals and attacks on informal traders. The South African Human Rights Commission and Lawyers for Human Rights have documented xenophobic incidents displacing thousands of people, many of them from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The official unemployment rate, which Statistics South Africa places above 32 percent, has amplified demands that jobs be reserved for South African citizens. ANC officials have framed the quota review as a way to reconcile those demands with labour shortages in healthcare, mining, agriculture and information technology.

Who would a quota change affect?

Anyone whose legal status depends on a numerical cap:

• Skilled foreign workers in sectors on the critical-skills list, whose allocations by country could shift
• Asylum seekers and refugees whose cases can take years to process because of backlogs
• Employers who use the work-visa system to fill positions that local hiring cannot cover
• South African workers competing for the same entry-level roles as documented migrants

What happens after the call?

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who took over the portfolio in June 2024, has not yet confirmed a review timeline. Any change to quotas normally requires Cabinet approval, gazetting and a public-comment window of at least 30 days. Historical quota changes have typically taken between six months and two years from announcement to implementation, depending on scope.

Civil-society groups, including the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa, have urged the government to anchor any changes in the constitution and in the 1951 Refugee Convention. They warn that lowering quotas without expanding legal work pathways could push more migrants into undocumented status, where they face higher risks of exploitation.

Whether the ANC's intervention produces binding regulation will depend on Cabinet's response and on the course of the protests. For now, the call has put immigration policy back into Cabinet-level debate for the first time since the formation of the Government of National Unity.