A closer look at suspected “marriages of convenience” as authorities investigate hundreds of cases involving fraudulent unions and immigration documents in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture Credit: PMAttorneys
By Aisha Zardad
Kwa-Zulu Natal — The Department of Home Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal has ramped up efforts to tackle immigration-related fraud, with 813 suspected cases of so-called “marriages of convenience” finalised for investigation in the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
Provincial manager Cyril Mncwabe revealed the figures during a meeting of the KZN Council Against Crime in Durban, noting that many of the cases are referred from the national office for further scrutiny.
“Those are the cases where most of the time we have got to check, to do reports and investigate something like marriages of convenience…some of the foreign nationals getting married to South Africans and it’s detected in some instances that those are the marriages of convenience, not necessarily just for the obtaining of our documents as a country,” Mncwabe explained.
Alongside these investigations, the department carried out 148 law enforcement operations during the same period, intensifying efforts to clamp down on immigration violations.
Mncwabe said a key focus remains holding employers accountable, with 48 businesses charged in the third quarter for breaching the Immigration Act. This forms part of a broader target to ensure all detected offenders are prosecuted.
The department also recorded 1,299 detections of immigration-related transgressions during the reporting period, reflecting ongoing enforcement efforts.
Deportations and enforcement: Authorities continue to process deportations through two main channels: transfers to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Gauteng and direct deportations to neighbouring countries.
A total of 998 individuals were transferred to Lindela in the third quarter alone, bringing the cumulative figure from quarter one to three to 2,141.
Direct deportations to Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho reached 1,093 over the same period.
Tightening the system: Mncwabe said the department is increasingly relying on digitisation to strengthen monitoring systems and curb illegal and undocumented migration.
Efforts are also underway to review immigration legislation through the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, aimed at tightening regulatory frameworks.
He added that officials are actively involved in operations such as roadblocks, labour and business inspections, court proceedings, and status verification of foreign nationals.
At the same time, the department is encouraging legal migration by raising awareness about proper documentation and renewal requirements.
“Permits are not issued indefinitely,” Mncwabe said. “In many cases, individuals enter the country legally but become undocumented when they fail to renew their documents.”
