US announces visa restrictions targeting some South Africans

Africa, News

WASHINGTON, United States (NPA) — The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting certain foreign nationals from South Africa, as tensions between Washington and Pretoria continue to deepen.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on Tuesday, saying it would target foreign nationals responsible for, or complicit in, the enactment or implementation of laws or policies that enable what Washington describes as uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.

“The South African government has not adequately addressed the previously laid out concerns,” Rubio said in a statement.

Advertisement

The policy is being imposed under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the Secretary of State to restrict entry where a foreign national’s presence could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. Certain family members may also be covered.

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised South Africa over its land reform and racial-equity policies. Washington has also objected to South Africa’s legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

South Africa, however, has rejected the U.S. characterisation of its domestic policies, saying its land and other reform measures are aimed at addressing inequalities inherited from apartheid.

In a statement on Wednesday, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said it had noted with concern the U.S. visa restrictions.

The department said the announcement was consistent with what it described as “the mischaracterisation of South Africa’s domestic policies by fringe groups”.

“We maintain that challenges in our bilateral relations with the USA can only be resolved by constructive engagement through state actors on both sides of the diplomatic channel, not unilateral acts,” the statement said.

The identities and number of people who could be affected by the new restrictions had not been disclosed as of Wednesday.

The U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, said the visa policy was “only the first step in a series of escalatory measures”, signalling the possibility of further action by Washington.

The latest development adds to a series of disputes between the two countries under President Donald Trump’s administration, further straining bilateral relations.