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Home Affairs plans biometric online platform for asylum claims

Published

Minister Leon Schreiber said the platform should be working by 10 November 2026. He said it will speed up processing, check identities and help stop rejected applicants from submitting claims again and again.

Schreiber spoke at a media briefing of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration in Pretoria on Sunday. He said the platform will capture and verify biometric data. It will also check earlier applications, other infringements on an applicant's record and the authenticity of documents.

Schreiber said the model builds on digital systems the department already uses, such as the electronic travel authorisation system. He estimated the appeals backlog at around 120,000 cases and said a confirmed figure would follow. He said the backlog fell by about 20% in the previous financial year.

He said initial applications take about 30 days and that 74 advocates now help with appeals. He said only nine people handled appeals when the current administration inherited the system.

Schreiber said the Constitutional Court judgment of 7 July 2026 dealt with procedure and did not grant refugee status or citizenship to anyone. Government intends to ask the court for a supervisory order to guide how it applies the judgment. A Gauteng High Court panel will hear the matter of conflicting asylum judgments on 29 October 2026.

Key facts

Who
Leon Schreiber (Home Affairs Minister); Home Affairs (government department developing the platform); Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration (body that held the media briefing)
What
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said at an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration media briefing in Pretoria that a biometric online asylum platform, expected to be operational by 10 November 2026, will speed up processing and help address the appeals backlog, which he estimated at around 120,000 cases.
When
11 October 2026
Where
Pretoria, South Africa
Status
Reported

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