South Africa’s new First Safe Country principle represents a massive shift for how it can legally handle refugees and asylum seekers. Released as a white draft policy paper in December 2025, due to its controversial nature, opportunity to comment has been extended to Sunday 15 February 2026.
In essence, the First Safe Country principle means if someone passes through a safe country before reaching South Africa, they can no longer be eligible to claim asylum here. Home Affairs believes this will stop people from choosing South Africa specifically as a place to claim refugee status. Therefore, they must be granted asylum in the first safe country they arrive in.
SA’S NEW FIRST SAFE COUNTRY PRINCIPLE
The Department of Home Affairs’ new First Safe Country principle is notable for what it has dropped compared to an earlier 2024 version. Experts say government has backed off plans to withdraw from international refugee conventions. This includes the policy of non-refoulement, which means sending an asylum seeker back to a country where their rights have been violated.
So, on the whole, Home Affairs’ approach is actually a better one. But civil society groups are still worried the First Safe Country principle will be difficult to implement. The core problem, reports GroundUp, is the definition of the term ‘safe.’ For example, many African countries lack protections against gender-based violence and still criminalise homosexuality.
POLICY CHANGE COULD KEEP PEOPLE IN DANGER
Therefore, vulnerable people fleeing abuse en route to South Africa may in fact not be safe in many countries. And they may be turned away by the asylum system without proper assessments when they do finally reach South Africa. This will effectively push them back into a dangerous situation, without an official deportation.
The introduction of the First Safe Country principle follows numerous court judgments that raised the alarm on xenophobia in South Africa. Actions of vigilante groups against foreigners, such as Operation Dudula, prioritised such rulings. The aforementioned is a South African anti-immigrant movement, originating in Soweto, that aims to ‘force out’ (Dudula in isiZulu) undocumented foreigners from the country.
All the draft white papers still open for comment are available to be viewed HERE.
But what do you think? Are you a refugee or asylum seeker? Do you agree with the new First Safe Country principle? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below …
