Cross-Border Migration To South Africa Case Study

Cross-border migration in the sub Saharan region can be traced back to as early as the 1950s in which migrants from the SADC migrated to South Africa in search of employment opportunities with over 260 000 labour migrants in 1970 (Crush et al., 2005). However, during the apartheid regime in South Africa, citizens were not allowed to travel across international boundaries so as foreign visitors were not allowed to enter the country (Boyd, 1989; Makina, 2012b; Chereni, 2014). The post-apartheid period was a huge turn around for the nationals and the South African government allowed foreign visitors to migrate to South Africa. South Africa was regarded as a destination in search of employment and other economic opportunities (Chereni, 2014; Nshimbi …show more content…
These countries played a major role in building the economy of South Africa (Reed, 2013) and at the same time there was an economic decline in their own country of origin (Kotze and Hill, 1997). South Africa was considered to have the largest economy and most developed country in Africa (Reed, 2013). The main reason Zimbabweans migrated to South Africa is was as a result of the 2000 farm invasion and the collapse of the government (Makina, 2012b). Migration to South Africa was surrounded by controversial issues on the South African government (Kotze and Hill, 1997). Immigrants were used as labourer’s they face extreme exploitation and work and home and they were placed under harsh conditions and lastly the issue of xenophobia and racism (Kotze and Hill, 1997). Chereni (2014) argues that South Africa received immigrants with both documents (permits) and without documents. Therefore, it was difficult to estimate the exact number of Zimbabweans in South Africa. The Statistics South Africa (STATS SA) estimates that foreigners in South Africa contribute to 2, 79% of the total population, 141 550 temporary permits issued in 2002 17, 2 % are Zimbabweans with a total estimate of 24 370 (Statistics South Africa, 2012; Makina 2012b). The influx of immigrants in South Africa has resulted in the government assigning the South African Police Service (SAPS) to locate illegal migrants and implementing border control official and to be strict on the number of days immigrants should stay in South Africa before they return to their country. This implementation has proven to be difficult because migrants who do not have use informal measures when crossing the borders (Makina, 2012b). Furthermore, the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) made a remarkable request of extending an electric fence on the