South Africa Plans Electronic Border Checks to Track Visa Overstays
PRETORIA, South Africa. The government plans to introduce electronic border registration and automated visa-expiry reminders to tackle illegal immigration, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said on October 26, 2026.
According to SABC News, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration is targeting telecommunications as part of efforts to identify visitors who remain in South Africa beyond their authorised stay.
How Electronic Border Registration Would Work
Kubayi said authorities had begun modernising border gates to record visitors’ visa information and telephone numbers electronically.
“Weβve started to modernise our port of entry which is the border gates,” she said.
Under the proposed approach, visitors would receive an SMS reminder 24 or 48 hours before their scheduled departure.
Kubayi described the warning as: “your visa dates are ending, please leave the country- youβre required to leave.”
RICA SIM Registration Connection
The government also intends to connect the border registration mechanism with RICA SIM-card issuance, linking telecommunications records to its immigration management efforts.
The announcement establishes the intended tracking approach but does not specify an implementation deadline or identify which border crossings will receive the technology first.
The measures form part of the government’s wider efforts to improve immigration compliance through electronic registration and communication with visitors before their visas expire.
