Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says 212 cases involving officials accused of serious misconduct have been referred to law enforcement for criminal investigation and possible prosecution since April 2023. The figure was revealed in a written parliamentary reply after MK Party MP Thalente Kubheka asked how many officials had been arrested and dismissed for corruption over the past three financial years.

The disclosure puts fresh focus on corruption inside one of the country’s most sensitive departments. Home Affairs handles passports, birth certificates, visas and other core identity documents. When that system is compromised, the damage goes far beyond admin failures. It hits trust, security and the rule of law.

Schreiber details arrests, dismissals and convictions

According to Schreiber’s reply, the department has worked with law enforcement agencies to ensure implicated officials face legal consequences where necessary. He said 27 officials have been dismissed in cases linked to passport fraud crackdowns, and that eight of them have been convicted and sentenced to a combined 97 years in prison.

He added that those convictions range from four to 18 years. In one case, an official was sentenced to 10 years and ordered to repay bribes. Schreiber also said six officials were convicted and sentenced in the previous two financial years for offences including the sale of birth certificates and the issuing of fraudulent death notices.

In another case cited by the minister, a Home Affairs official tried to bribe a counter-corruption investigator with R10 000 to stop a visa fraud probe. Schreiber said that official received a direct three-year prison sentence.

Passport fraud operation widened across provinces

Schreiber said a multi-disciplinary approach involving the department’s Counter Corruption and Security Services branch was introduced in the 2023/24 financial year to tackle passport fraud, including photo-swapping scams. He said that operation led to the arrest of a kingpin and 26 other people in September 2023. Investigations then spread to other provinces, resulting in further arrests involving officials, South African citizens and foreign nationals.

The minister has separately said the department’s dismissals had reached 63 by 24 April 2026, after seven more officials were fired and 16 others suspended in ongoing misconduct cases.

More than 100 officials dismissed in three years

Schreiber also provided broader dismissal figures for the department. He said 43 officials were dismissed in 2023/24, 49 in 2024/25 and 22 in 2025/26, taking the total to 114 over three financial years.

The figures suggest that Home Affairs is under growing pressure to prove it can clean up from within. The department has already been under scrutiny following SIU findings into long-running corruption and maladministration linked to visas and permits.

For ordinary South Africans, the message is stark. Corruption at Home Affairs is not just a paperwork problem. It is a frontline governance crisis, and government is now trying to show that the officials accused of enabling it will face real consequences.