South Africa's Department of Home Affairs has launched the first phase of a new Digital Asylum System, a platform that will let people seeking asylum register their intention to apply online, using facial biometrics and supporting documents, instead of queuing at offices.

The department said on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, that the portal is the first step in building a complete end-to-end digital asylum system. It aims to cut corruption and abuse in the asylum process, reduce long processing times and clear a backlog of appeals that has built up over decades.

The platform is currently live for an initial batch of test cases. Public access is expected to follow the department's next scheduled routine software release this weekend.

How the new system works

Under the first phase, a person seeking asylum can record their intention to apply digitally through the department's MyHomeAffairsOnline portal, by providing personal information, capturing biometrics and uploading supporting documents.

The department stressed that this first step only records an intention to apply. It does not amount to a formal asylum application, and it does not grant refugee status, legal immigration status or South African citizenship.

Later phases will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to help process applications and appeals more quickly. The department said the technology would help it clear the long-standing backlog of asylum appeals and dramatically reduce the time taken to decide new applications and appeals, while also allowing the swift deportation of the 95% of asylum seekers who are routinely refused.

Nine officials for thousands of appeals

Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber said the digital overhaul was needed because the system had been starved of staff and funding for years. At the start of the current administration, he said, Home Affairs had only nine officials to handle thousands of outstanding asylum appeals.

"The end-to-end digitalisation of the asylum seeker process presents a major opportunity to finally end the long-standing abuse of this system," Schreiber said. "The central problem we are working to solve is the inordinate delays traditionally associated with the asylum application and appeals processes."

He said the delays were caused by a chronic shortage of funding and personnel over many years, but added: "We are systematically working to overcome these capacity constraints by harnessing cutting-edge biometric, machine learning and AI technology, in line with our overall vision for digital transformation."

The department has also brought in 74 advocates to help work through the appeals backlog, and said the backlog had already been reduced by about 20% in the previous financial year. Schreiber has previously estimated that around 120,000 appeals remained outstanding, although the department has said it will confirm the exact figure.

Court ruling and fraud crackdown

The department said the new platform gives effect to a Constitutional Court judgment of 7 July 2026, in a way that strengthens national security and protects the department's capacity to operate. The court ruling dealt with procedural aspects of processing asylum claims, and the department said it did not remove its right to adjudicate refugee applications.

The launch follows a warning from the minister in October that the new biometric platform, then expected to be operational by 10 November, would help verify applicants' identities, check whether they had previously lodged applications that were rejected, and verify the authenticity of passports and other travel documents.

Over the coming months, the department plans to roll out further phases of the project until the time needed to decide an asylum application and appeal is dramatically reduced. Schreiber said the aim was to protect the small number of applicants who genuinely need protection, while ensuring that unsuccessful applicants are removed swiftly.

People who want to register their intention to apply for asylum can do so through the MyHomeAffairsOnline portal at myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za.