The African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee on 26 May 2026 formally asked South Africa's Department of Home Affairs to bring back numerical caps on immigration permits, citing a dormant provision of the country's immigration law.

Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told reporters in Johannesburg that the party's highest decision-making body wants quotas back "with appropriate urgency."

The call came after an NEC meeting that ran over the previous weekend.

What did the NEC actually call for?

The NEC passed a resolution urging Home Affairs to reintroduce quota limits on immigration intake. Mbalula framed the request as a question of national capacity.

"Our country must decide transparently and in the public interest how many additional persons, that means at its disposal, can lawfully and humanly accommodate," Mbalula said at the post-NEC media briefing.

The resolution did not specify a cap figure, an annual ceiling, or a target visa class.

Which law already allows this?

The NEC pointed to existing legislation, not a new bill. Section 19 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 provides the framework for setting quotas on different categories of foreign nationals.

"The instrument exists in our laws," Mbalula said. Section 19, he argued, already does the work; what is missing is the political decision to use it.

What is driving the call?

The resolution lands amid nationwide protests against undocumented immigration. Organisers have scheduled a national shutdown for 30 June to push for the deportation of foreign nationals without legal papers.

The NEC separately recognised the complaints raised by the March and March Movement as genuine. It called the movement's demands on illegal immigration "reasonable."

How does the NEC characterise the unrest?

ANC leadership drew a sharp distinction between migration policy and xenophobic violence. They separated legitimate grievances about service delivery from acts of hatred.

The NEC also framed migration as a global phenomenon rather than a uniquely South African problem.

"The NEC does not characterise the majority of these activities as xenophobic because xenophobic is something that is equal to hate, crime, and is condemned universally by law of the United Nations," Mbalula said.

"We believe that South Africans are not xenophobic. There are those among these groupings who gravitate to hatred, which is dangerous for our country."

What happens next?

The NEC has no power to issue quotas itself. The Department of Home Affairs must decide whether to publish new quota regulations under Section 19, and over which categories of permit.

Officials have not announced a timeline. The 26 May statement is a political instruction, not an administrative change.

Who should watch for updates?

Anyone with a pending or future South African immigration application should monitor the Department of Home Affairs website for any gazette notices issued under Section 19 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002.

Until the Department publishes new numbers, existing visa rules remain in force. Foreign nationals already holding valid permits are not affected by the NEC resolution.