30 June deadline: Why migrants are scared to stay

For years, South Africa has been home to people seeking safety, work, education and a better life. Some flee wars. Some come to study. Some open spaza shops, salons, fruit stalls, and small businesses. Others fill low-paid jobs many South Africans say they are also desperate for.

As 30 June approached, many foreign nationals are asking a scary question: what happens if we have to leave everything behind?

The date was not set by the government. It was pushed by anti-immigrant groups, including March and March, which have demanded that undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa by 30 June. The government has said official-looking notices about the deadline are fake and designed to cause panic. But the fear is real.

Why people are scared

Anti-immigrant groups have held protests in several parts of the country, accusing foreign nationals of taking jobs, putting pressure on public services, and contributing to crime. Similar protests have turned violent before, and recent reports say thousands of migrants have already fled their homes or gathered at consulates and temporary sites to seek repatriation.

Statistics South Africa estimates that the country is home to about three million immigrants. They are workers, students, business owners, parents, and children. But in the current climate, many say they feel reduced to one label: foreigner.

A South African security worker in Sandton, who asked not to be named, said he supports the protests because he believes foreign nationals accept lower wages, making it harder for South Africans to find work.

“I know it’s not fair to say that they steal our jobs, but they do,” he said. “Their places would be given to South African citizens if they left.”

This is a common argument. But it’s also where the debate gets messy. South Africa’s unemployment crisis is real. So is exploitation by employers who use desperate workers – local or foreign – to keep wages low. Blaming migrants is easier than fixing the labour system.

Living with uncertainty

For foreign nationals still in South Africa, the anxiety is immediate. Some have already returned home, and others are waiting for help from their governments.

Thousands of people, mainly from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, have been trying to leave the country ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests. In Durban, many Malawians queued at a makeshift camp hoping to return home. In Cape Town, hundreds of Zimbabweans slept outside their consulate waiting for transport.

More than 8 000 people had been repatriated ahead of the deadline. In Johannesburg, nearly 400 Malawian nationals spent the weekend outside the Malawian consulate-general in Sandton, hoping for assistance. Many said they had nowhere else to go.

‘This is the only home I know’

For one university student, who also requested anonymity, the fear is not only about safety. It is about identity.

“I am a South African citizen with a foreign background,” she said. “My family has such a long history of migration that we don’t have a definite country of origin.”

She said the uncertainty around 30 June has made her worry about whether she will be able to complete her degree.

“The thought of not knowing whether I’ll be able to complete my degree or have to look for other schools outside the country… it means adding an extra year to my course,” she said.

She said being told to “go back” is painful because there is no simple place to go back to.

“The fact that even saying my name forces me to describe my false home… truly, we never belonged,” she said.

Some migrants have spent days at bus stations, consulates, and temporary centres, waiting for transport. Others are sleeping outside, unsure whether their names are on lists or whether buses will arrive at all.

In Cape Town, hundreds of foreign nationals were stranded outside consulates and at a Home Affairs repatriation centre in Epping. Gift of the Givers has been assisting Zimbabweans hoping to leave before 30 June.

For many immigrants, leaving is not just a travel decision. It means abandoning jobs, homes, businesses, friendships, and the small routines that make a life feel stable.

Sibusiso, who asked that only his first name be used, is originally from Zimbabwe, but has lived in South Africa since 2013. He runs a gas-refill business and says he is still deciding whether to close during the planned protests.

“We might close tomorrow like the shops around here,” he said. “If the chaos continues after the 30th, we will remain closed and only reopen on Thursday.”

“I support my family back home,” Sibusiso said. “I pay school fees for my nieces and nephews. If they are not paid by the end of the month, the children are sent home, so I make sure to pay their fees on time every single month.”

South Africans could lose jobs too

The 30 June tension is also affecting South Africans employed by foreign nationals. Janine Eksteen, who has worked at Warrenton Salome Fashion for three years, said she was told not to come to work on Monday because of the planned protest.

“In Warrenton there is no work,” she said. “He [her employer] gave me work. Even though the money is not a lot, we survive.”

She said if her employer closed his business or left the country, her family would suffer.

Mirshana Morris, who works for a foreign national as a cashier and packer, said she was also told to stay home for two days.

“It will play quite a role in my life because he [her employer] gave me a job and he helps where he can,” she said.

A South African salon owner, Lebohang Phiri, said she plans to close because her foreign employees are scared.

“The people that work for me are foreigners, so I will close,” she said. “What must I do?”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned against blaming migrants for South Africa’s economic problems, although he is adamant the government will still deal with illegal immigration.

South Africa has a right to enforce immigration laws. But no group has the right to threaten people, chase them from communities, or turn frustration into mob justice.

Migrants have become the face of failures they did not create: unemployment, poor policing, weak borders, corruption, failing services, and employers who exploit cheap labour.

As June 30 approached, many foreign nationals started preparing for danger. Some packed away their belongings. Some went into hiding. Some are waiting outside consulates. And some stayed because they have nowhere else to go.