PSC Statement on the Withdrawal of the 90-day Visa Exemption for Palestinians
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign notes with exceptional concern the decision issued by the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, on 6 December 2025 withdrawing the 90-day visa exemption for Palestinian nationals.
Of particular concern is that this measure does not sanction the criminal acts of Apartheid Israel and those complicit in ethnically cleansing Gaza, but instead imposes severe and indiscriminate consequences on all Palestinian nationals who wish to travel to South Africa.
The wholesale withdrawal of the exemption, purportedly in response to the arrival of the two flights of Palestinians on 28 October and 13 November, unjustifiably shifts responsibility onto Palestinians themselves for circumstances entirely beyond their control.
Rather than holding Al Majd Europe to account, the shady organisation with Israeli links that organised the chartered flights, and the airlines who partook in the operation, the Minister’s decision penalises Palestinian nationals. The Minister has not demonstrated that the Department exhausted all remedies available to it to prevent similar flights from entering South Africa before resorting to this extreme measure.
As is common cause, the Palestinian nationals who arrived on both flights in South Africa, and who fled a genocide, did not have any knowledge of where they would ultimately end up.
The PSC affirms that the withdrawal of the visa exemption amounts to a form of punishment for Palestinian nationals as a result of crimes and unscrupulous practices enacted by Israel. The result of the exemption’s withdrawal now disadvantages all Palestinian nationals who have a legitimate reason to seek asylum in or visit South Africa, including those Palestinians who wish to come to South Africa to be with their families who are seeking asylum here
We are concerned that the Minister has not properly considered the consequences of the decision for the rights protected under the Refugees Act, and South Africa’s obligations to offer asylum under international law, including the practical ability of Palestinians to access the asylum system. The Department now requires all Palestinian nationals to apply for visas aboard prior to coming to South Africa. However, individuals in Gaza have no functional access to South African visa processes. The effect is therefore materially different from a state whose nationals enjoy freedom of movement and ordinary access to consular services.
The Minister’s decision to cancel the 90-day visa exemption effectively removes South Africa as a viable country of asylum for Palestinians in Gaza and abroad. Moreover, the Minister’s statement notes that “investigations into the recent arrival of two charter flights transporting Palestinian passport holders revealed systematic abuse of this exemption”. What the statement ignores, however, is that the Palestinians who arrived had no decision-making powers in coming to South Africa. In light of this, it is disingenuous to imply that it is Palestinians themselves who are abusing the system by removing the visa exemption from all Palestinian nationals.
The Minister’s public assertion that the Palestinians on Flights 1 and 2 had no intention to apply for asylum is, with respect, untenable. The individuals concerned were evacuated under emergency conditions and were not aware, prior to departure, that they would be brought to South Africa. Upon arrival, however, a number of them expressly indicated that they sought international protection in this country.
We further record that many Palestinians currently residing in Gaza regard South Africa as a jurisdiction in which they may seek asylum, given South Africa’s stated commitment to upholding its international legal obligations. The withdrawal of the 90-day visa exemption now has the practical effect of denying these individuals any meaningful opportunity to exercise their right to seek asylum in South Africa.
Palestinians have endured over two years of Israel’s brutal ongoing genocide, 76 years of ethnic cleansing, illegal occupation and apartheid and, as anyone fleeing from wars, conflicts or persecution, they have the right to seek asylum under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention and the South African Refugees Act.
We call upon the Minister of Home Affairs and all relevant government departments to immediately reinstate the visa waiver for Palestinians, as well as to keep to its commitment of not enabling or supporting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in a manner that does not prejudice Palestinian nationals or limit their already scarce freedom of movement.
This includes stopping future charter planes arranged by Al Majd Europe or any of its proxies at source, again without infringing upon the rights and privileges offered to ordinary Palestinian nationals, as well as conducting investigations and duly sanctioning all complicit South African-based parties and individuals involved in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine including but not limited to organisations such as Lyft Airlines and individual South Africans who have served in the genocidal Israeli Occupation Forces.
For more information please contact:
Salim Vally: 082 802 5936
Hayley Gewer: 077 443 4704
| ثيمات |
| • الإخلاء القسري • التشريد • التمييز • السياسات العامة • الشعوب الأصلية • النازحين • النزاع المسلح/ العرقي • دولي • شعوب تحت الاحتلال • نزع المكلية • نقل السكان • وطني |
