Asylum registration goes online this weekend. What the receipt means

People who want to apply for asylum in South Africa will soon be able to register their intention online instead of starting in a queue at a refugee office. Home Affairs says the new portal is live for a first batch of test cases and opens to the public after its next routine software release this coming weekend (Department of Home Affairs via gov.za).

The catch: registering online is not an asylum application and gives no status or protection from deportation.

Where do you register?

Registration happens on Home Affairs' online portal, myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za (gov.za). It's the first phase of what the department calls a new end-to-end Digital Asylum System (ITWeb).

How does online asylum registration work?

Steps as set out by Home Affairs (gov.za).

Does registering online give you asylum or a permit?

No. Home Affairs says registering an intention to apply "does not confer any status" and is not a formal asylum application. It doesn't grant asylum, refugee status or citizenship, and people must still follow the formal application process under South African law (gov.za, The Citizen).

The department also says deportations will continue in line with the law, and the receipt doesn't give blanket protection against immigration enforcement (gov.za).

Why is Home Affairs moving asylum online?

The department says the portal gives effect to a Constitutional Court judgment of 7 July 2026 and will help it gauge how many applications to expect and plan staff around them (gov.za).

Minister Leon Schreiber said the main problem is long delays in deciding applications and appeals, which he says opportunistic applicants have abused. He said Home Affairs had only nine officials handling thousands of outstanding appeals at the start of the current administration, and that later phases will use biometric, machine learning and AI tools to speed up decisions (gov.za).

Asylum seekers interviewed by TimesLIVE welcomed the change, saying it would spare them the queues and disruption seen at offices in places like Soweto and Durban (TimesLIVE).