The Department of Home Affairs says reforms at the Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa (RAASA) have reduced the country's active refugee appeals caseload by more than 12%.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the department said the number of active appeals fell from 79 870 at the end of 2024 to 70 976 at the end of 2025, a reduction of 8 894 cases.
The department said 19 064 cases were removed from a ringfenced backlog of 133 582 appeals during the 2025/26 financial year, representing a 14.2% reduction.
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Cases were removed through appeal determinations, withdrawals, case finalisations and paper determinations where appellants failed to attend scheduled hearings.
According to the department, the refugee appeals backlog accumulated over more than two decades, with some unresolved cases dating back to 2008.
The department attributed the reduction to a series of operational reforms at RAASA, including the appointment of 40 additional advocate members, an increase in the number of appeal hearings scheduled each day, targeted adjudication strategies for high-volume and less complex appeals, and strengthened performance management.
It also said RAASA had expanded its collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to improve the quality and consistency of decisions.
Additional advocates from the Cape Bar are also being onboarded to increase adjudication capacity in the Western Cape, which has the country's second-largest refugee appeals caseload.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the department expected further progress following the appointment of additional advocates and a recent Constitutional Court judgment concerning repeat asylum applications.
"While we still have a way to go, efficiency gains have already produced the biggest reduction in the refugee appeals backlog in years," Schreiber said.
He said the reforms were intended to improve the efficiency of the asylum system and reduce waiting times for applicants while maintaining South Africa's constitutional and international obligations.
