The Special Investigating Unit has recommended that the Department of Home Affairs strengthen its internal controls by vetting all employees, integrating systems with the Department of Labour, and conducting thorough quality assurance checks before issuing any visas.
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Fraudulent marriages and life partnerships have emerged as key tools in immigration fraud, frequently involving foreign “pastors and prophets” who enter South Africa on visitor visas and later form sham unions to obtain Permanent Residence Permits (PRPs).
This is according to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), whose progress report to Cyril Ramaphosa sheds further light on how these deceptive marriages are used to secure permanent residency in the country.
The report highlights collusion between corrupt officials and religious figures in arranging "marriages of convenience" and fraudulent life partnerships.
It follows an interim report released in February, which alleged that South Africa’s immigration system had effectively been sold to the highest bidder. Officials earning under R25 000 per month were reportedly receiving more than R16.3 million in direct deposits.
According to the SIU, the system had turned into a "marketplace" where marriage certificates and residency permits were traded for amounts ranging between R500 and R3000.
Investigators estimate that over 630 000 foreign nationals may be residing in South Africa unlawfully as a result of these schemes.
The probe began after the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) received 2 557 study visa applications from Nigerian nationals between 2021 and 2023. It uncovered cases such as a foreign pastor who entered the country on a visitor’s visa in 2002 and later entered into a life partnership with a South African woman.
Further findings revealed an organised operation in which syndicates obtained the identity documents of South African women and used them to marry undocumented foreign nationals—often without the women’s knowledge or consent.
At the time of publication, neither the Presidency nor the DHA had responded to requests for comment.
The report details one case in which a woman was approached by a friend offering her an opportunity to earn extra money. The friend explained that a foreign national was willing to pay her in exchange for marriage.
"The two met the foreign national near the Chicken Licken outlet near Roodeport, where the foreign national took her identity document and entered the court. He requested her to sign documents that were unknown to her and gave her R400," the report stated.
During an interview, the woman was presented with a notarial agreement dated December 9, 2003, but said she had no knowledge of it.
In another instance, a foreign national applied for a PRP just eight days after marrying a South African man in 2004, with the application based on that marriage. Her citizenship by neutralisation was later approved in September 2010, followed by the issuing of a South African identity document.
Fraudulent marriages also came under scrutiny during the 2024/25 spaza shop registration campaign, where concerns were raised about legal and regulatory challenges tied to unions between foreign nationals and South African citizens.
Groups such as the Clayville Civic Association (CCA) made submissions supporting the Immigration Amendment Bill [B8-2024], calling for stricter controls, particularly around marriages involving foreign nationals. They argued that such unions are often exploited to bypass immigration laws.
Similarly, residents in the Mopani District Municipality urged that the proposed Marriage Bill introduce tighter regulations governing marriages between citizens and foreign nationals, citing the widespread nature of fraudulent unions.
Submissions to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs also highlighted how many South African women, facing poverty and difficult socio-economic conditions, are pressured into these arrangements—often without fully understanding the legal consequences.
The SIU further revealed that another Nigerian pastor, who entered South Africa on a visitor’s visa in March 2006, used a fraudulent letter of consent from his "wife" to apply for a PRP, which was granted in November 2017.
The unit has referred several of these cases to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for consideration of criminal charges against those involved.
In response, the SIU has recommended that the DHA strengthen its internal controls by vetting all employees, integrating systems with the Department of Labour, and conducting thorough quality assurance checks before issuing any visas.