South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs plans to launch a biometric asylum registration platform by 10 November 2026, Minister Leon Schreiber said. Applicants will have to submit biometric data online, which the department will use to confirm identities and check for earlier rejected applications, according to the government news agency SAnews (SAnews, 11 October 2026).
The platform will also check the authenticity of passports and other travel documents and flag other recorded infringements, the minister said. He added that the department will draw on its experience with the Electronic Travel Authorisation system.
Why the biometric asylum registration is being introduced
The move follows a Constitutional Court judgment of 7 July 2026. Schreiber said the ruling addressed procedural aspects of asylum claims and did not grant refugee status or citizenship to anyone. Home Affairs still decides applications, he said, and will deport people who do not qualify.
He put the appeals backlog at about 120,000 cases, while saying the department would provide a confirmed figure. The backlog fell by about 20% in the previous financial year, he said. Initial applications take about 30 days to process, and most delays occur at the appeals stage. The department has brought in 74 advocates to help with appeals.
Phased rollout and court oversight
Schreiber said the department needs to estimate how many people will apply so it can plan staffing and capacity. The platform is meant to support that planning and a phased rollout. The government also plans to ask the Constitutional Court for a supervisory order to guide implementation of its judgment.
Government departments were directed to take part in a 29 October 2026 hearing before a Gauteng High Court panel, which will consider conflicting judgments on asylum seekers from that division.
What is not yet public
The SAnews report does not say which biometric types will be collected, how long the data will be kept, or who will have access to it. For background, see our guides on what counts as biometric data and the advantages and disadvantages of biometrics.
Open questions remain. Which biometrics will applicants give, and under what retention rules? How will people without internet access apply? And how will applicants be able to challenge a wrong match or a flagged record?
