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Government must explain how thousands of foreign-owned businesses are operating across South Africa when only 33 business visas have been approved during the most recent financial year and just 204 over the past five years.

A parliamentary reply received by ActionSA has exposed a glaring discrepancy between South Africa's immigration laws and what is happening on the ground.

The Immigration Act requires foreign nationals who wish to establish businesses in South Africa to obtain a business visa and, in most cases, demonstrate a minimum capital investment of R5 million. Yet, according to the Minister of Home Affairs, only 204 business visas have been approved since 2020, with a mere 33 approved in the 2025/26 financial year.

These figures stand in stark contrast to government's own acknowledgement that more than 30,000 foreign nationals applied to register their businesses during the recent spaza shop registration process.

The question South Africans deserve answered is simple: under what immigration status are these businesses operating?

The numbers simply do not add up.

Either tens of thousands of businesses are operating without the legally required business visas, or government has no reliable system for monitoring and enforcing compliance with its own immigration laws. Both possibilities point to a serious failure of governance.

This discrepancy raises urgent questions about whether municipalities are verifying immigration compliance before issuing trading permits, whether Home Affairs is effectively enforcing the Immigration Act, and whether government departments are sharing information to identify and act against non-compliance.

ActionSA has consistently warned through our #Spaza4Locals campaign that government's failure to regulate the township economy has created an environment where laws are selectively enforced and accountability is virtually non-existent.

This parliamentary reply reinforces those concerns.

Anyone conducting business in South Africa must comply with the country's immigration, labour, tax and municipal regulations. When government fails to enforce these laws consistently, it undermines legitimate businesses, disadvantages local entrepreneurs and erodes confidence in the rule of law.

ActionSA will continue to pursue this matter until government provides a full account of how many foreign-owned businesses are operating in South Africa, what immigration status their owners hold, and what steps are being taken to ensure compliance with the law.

The fact that only 33 business visas have been approved this year while tens of thousands of foreign-owned businesses continue to trade cannot simply be ignored.

South Africans deserve answers, accountability and a government willing to enforce its own laws.

Issued by ActionSA Parliamentary Chief Whip Lerato Ngobeni