Immigrants and asylum seekers data from administrative systems in South Africa Ramadimetja Matji Health and Vital Statistics Division Statistics South Africa
Outline of presentation Legislation on asylum Seekers and refugees Administrative data sources on immigration, including asylum seekers and refugees Statistics South Africa s releases on travellers and immigrants
Legislation on asylum Seekers and refugees The main international [United nations(un)] legislation that covers asylum seekers and refugees is: o The 1951 Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees that established the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and o The 1967 Protocol relating to the 1951 Convention In addition to the UN legislation is the 1969 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) ~ African Union (AU) which governs aspects of refugee problems in Africa
Legislation on asylum Seekers and refugees, Cont. The department of home affairs (DHA) is the government department responsible for movements of nationals and non-nationals across the borders of the country, including voluntary and forced movements. This jurisdiction is enshrined in the Immigration Act of 2002 (Act No. 13, 2002). The Department s core Immigration services duties are o Administering admissions into the country o Determining the residency status of foreigners and issuing permits thereof o Custodianship of refugee affairs o Inspectorate
Legislation on asylum Seekers and refugees, Cont. DHA is mandated by the Refugee Act of 1998 (Act No. 130 of 1998) The act provides for the reception into South Africa of asylum seekers, regulates applications for and recognition of refugee status, provides for the rights and obligations flowing from such status The policy context The fundamental principle guiding the unwritten asylum policy in South Africa is an inclusive and self-integration refugee regime in a non-encampment refugee system. All asylum seekers are immediately integrated into local society (DHA).
Legislation on asylum Seekers and refugees, Cont. This policy encourages greater interaction with local communities, however it has its negative implications as the close physical proximity tends to breed potential confrontation and xenophobic attacks from the local residents Refugees are eligible for grants for the aged, the disabled, care dependency and child support
DHA administrative data sets on International migration Access to DHA administrative datasets is governed by a MOU between the two departments, which states among others: Datasets that will be made available to Stats SA Variables that will be made available The frequency with which datasets will be made available Metadata of the datasets DHA provides unit records of data Data must be transported via a secure network in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act
DHA administrative data sets on International migration, cont. Movement control System: Tracks movements of both foreign nationals and South African residents through ports of entry/exit. This data set is used by Stats SA to produce statistics on international tourism through monthly releases and 1 annual report Permits system: Provides information on temporary and permanent residence permits applications Stats SA produces an annual report on Documented immigrants using this data set
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration, Cont. National Immigration Information System: Repository of information on asylum seekers and refugees: Used to register and process asylum seekers until their cases are adjudicated. ** Stats SA has not been granted access to this data set at this stage, but the Memorandum of understanding is undergoing revision and will include access to the NIIS and variables agreed on.
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration, Cont. Movement Control System
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration: Movement Control System Number of South African residents and foreign travellers by travel direction Travel Direction January December January % Change % Change 2016 2016 2017 Dec 2016 Jan 2017 Jan 2016 Jan 2017 Total 3 814 331 4 542 548 3 815 402 16.0% 0.03% South African residents 976 667 1 333 870 995 727 25.4% 2.0% Arrivals 584 653 566 635 601 521 6.2% 2.9% Departures 391 185 766 332 393 508 48.7% 0.6% Transit 829 903 698 22.7% 15.8% Foreign travellers 2 837 664 3 208 678 2 819 675 12.1% 0.6% Arrivals 1 558 854 1 554 048 1 559 295 0.3% 0.03% Departures 1 220 540 1 589 855 1 204 768 24.2% 1.3% Transit 58 270 64 775 55 612 14.1% 4.6% Foreign arrivals 1 558 854 1 554 048 1 559 295 0.3% 0.03% Non visitors 117 369 81 590 120 373 47.5% 2.6% Visitors 1 441 485 1 472 458 1 438 922 2.3% 0.2% Visitors 1 441 485 1 472 458 1 438 922 2.3% 0.2% Arrivals only 497 274 357 103 531 481 48.8% 6.9% Single trips 429 745 527 960 410 265 22.3% 4.5% Multiple trips 514 466 587 395 497 176 15.4% 3.4% Visitors 1 441 485 1 472 458 1 438 922 2.3% 0.2% Same day 428 844 507 351 398 388 21.5% 7.1% Overnight (tourists) 1 012 641 965 107 1 040 534 7.8% 2.8%
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration: Movement Control System. Cont. Number of tourists from the ten leading overseas countries in January 2016 and January 2017 Number of tourists 60 000 50 000 40 000 30 000 20 000 10 000 0 Country of residence 2016 2017
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration: Movement Control System. Cont. Number of tourists from the ten leading Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries (excluding South Africa) in January 2016 and January 2017
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration: Movement Control System. Cont. Number of tourists from the ten leading 'other' African countries in January 2016 and January 2017
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration, cont. Permits System: Temporary Residence Permits
Distribution of recipients of Temporary Recipients Permits (TRP)
Distribution of recipients of Temporary Recipients Permits by country of residence
Distribution of recipients of Temporary Recipients Permits: Age
DHA Administrative data sets on International migration, Cont. Permits System: Permanent residence permits (PRP)
PRPs: Types of permits issued
PRPs: Ten leading countries
PRPs: Age group
PRP: Region & Type of permit issued
National Immigration Information System * *Information source: DHA Asylum Seeker Management report on asylum trends, 2015
National Immigration Information System. Cont. Registered Asylum Seekers by Year: 2006-2015 250 000 207 206 223 324 200 000 180 637 150 000 106 904 100 000 50 000 53 361 45 637 61 517 70 010 71 914 62 159 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 YEAR
National Immigration Information System. Cont. NIIS data suggests a substantial drop in the number of registered asylum seekers A total of 62 159 new arrivals were registered as asylum seekers in 2015, as opposed to 71 914 registered in 2014 and 70 010 registered in 2013
NIIS: Regional breakdown. 2015 2015 Regional Classification SADC Eastern Africa West Africa South Central Asia Central Africa Eastern Asia Northern Africa Middle East South East Asia Eastern Europe Carribbean Western Europe 14 101 22,69% 8 768 14,11% 28 864 46,44% 8 083 13,00% 2 0,00% 3 0,00% 19 0,03 24 0,04% 75 0,12% 652 1,05% 251 0,40% 1 311 2,11%
National Immigration Information System. Cont. Top ten sending countries: 2015 18 000 17 785 16 000 14 000 12 000 10 000 9 322 8 000 6 554 6 355 6 000 4 000 2 000 3 331 2 596 2 372 2 079 2 064 1 778 0 Zimbabwe Ethiopia Nigeria DRC Bangladesh Pakistan Malawi Somalia India Ghana
NIIS: Breakdown by Gender. 2015 Female, 20 262, 33% Female Male Male, 41 907, 67%
Thank you