R1 million fine for hiring illegal immigrants in South Africa

South African employers could soon find themselves hit with millions of rands worth of fines if they are caught hiring undocumented foreign nationals.

Under Section 38 of the Immigration Act, the employment of illegal foreigners or those without valid work permits is strictly prohibited in South Africa.

Employers who are found to be in contravention of this currently face fines of up to R10,000 for every illegal foreign national that they hire.

The Department of Employment and Labour is now looking to increase the severity of penalties for non-compliant employers.

The Employment Services Amendment Bill, which is currently undergoing parliamentary review processes, proposes the introduction of a tiered penalty system for employers.

If the bill is passed, first-time offenders will face fines of up to R100,000 for every undocumented foreign national which they employ.

Repeat offences within a three-year timeframe could see this fine escalate up to R200,000 per illegal foreign national.

On a third offence, non-compliant employers will either be charged up to R1 million per illegal foreign national or 10% of their annual turnover.

Additionally, third-time offenders will reportedly have criminal cases opened against them and will be prosecuted for multiple contraventions of the Immigration Act.

Deputy Labour Minister Jomo Sibiya explained to Newzroom Afrika that this proposed change aims to make South African employers more compliant with existing labour laws.

“Employers still don’t want to respect and accept that it is criminal to employ illegal foreign immigrants in South Africa,” Sibiya said.

“Employers have a duty to make sure that whenever you employ non-South Africans, you must verify their papers at Home Affairs. It is the duty of every employer to do that.”

Sibiya said that employers wishing to bring non-South African workers into the country must apply to the Department of Employment and Labour to do so.

These employers must then prove that the foreign workers are bringing a certain skill into the country which South African workers may not possess.

Passing the draft bill

The draft Employment Services Amendment Bill was gazetted on 26 May 2026, amid rising anti-illegal-immigration sentiment across South Africa.

On 5 August, the Department of Employment and Labour formally tabled the proposed legislation before the Standing Committee on Employment and Labour in parliament.

The overall goal of the bill is to regulate the employment of foreign nationals in line with existing labour and immigration laws.

It aims to establish a legislative framework for labour migration which will protect legal migrant workers while also safeguarding South African jobs through sector-specific quotas.

Committee chairperson Boyce Maneli welcomed the bill’s tabling and said the committee would proceed to the next stage of the legislative process.

This will include opening a public participation process, during which the committee will consider all submissions received before passing them to the next parliamentary stage.

The committee encouraged organised labour, business, civil society groups, members of the public and other interested stakeholders to participate in the upcoming comment process.

Committee members also called for stronger coordination between the Department of Labour, the Department of Home Affairs, and law enforcement agencies.

Sibiya pointed to recent labour inspections, which took place across the country last week, as evidence of this strengthened collaboration already at work.

The inspections, which saw participation from members of Home Affairs and the South African Police Service, uncovered at least four illegal immigrants last Friday, according to Sibiya.

Sibiya said these foreign nationals had been arrested and would be deported, whilst their employers were also arrested, charged and fined.

“SAPS have the power to arrest, and that’s why we bring them,” Sibiya said. “Home Affairs are the custodians of immigration in South Africa.”

“Even if I can see this person is illegal, only Home Affairs by law can confirm and say ‘this person is illegal in our country’. We want to do these things within the legal framework.”