The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed the processing of 586 Nigerian nationals for repatriation after they were found to be residing in the country illegally.

The first repatriation flight left on Thursday morning, carrying 268 passengers back to Nigeria. The remaining individuals from the processed group are scheduled to leave on a second flight on Monday.

All affected individuals were issued Emergency Travel Documents by the Nigerian High Commission to facilitate their return.

In terms of the South African Immigration Act, the individuals have been officially declared undesirable persons and are prohibited from re-entering South Africa for five years.

The department has issued a firm reminder to all foreign nationals living in South Africa that they must possess valid visas or legal authorisations to remain in the country.

Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber emphasised that the government is unyielding in its focus on immigration enforcement.

"Home Affairs is irrevocably committed to enforcing South Africa's immigration laws and restoring the rule of law. Our ongoing orderly and lawful deportations and repatriations, which have increased by 46% over the past two years, are clear evidence of this," he said.

Schreiber noted that the department's enforcement capabilities were being structurally modernised under a broader reform agenda recently affirmed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This includes the ongoing scale-up of the Electronic Travel Authorisation to record biometrics for every foreigner entering the country, the replacement of the fraud-prone Green ID Book with Smart ID cards through the digital partnership with the banks, and introducing a cutting-edge identity infrastructure designed to systematically prevent identity fraud and immigration line breaches.

As South Africa grapples with violence against foreign nationals, Schreiber urged members of the public to remain calm and not engage in violence or take the law into their own hands.