SASSA Paid R1.28 Billion to Foreign Nationals in 2025/26
Last updated: 18 September 2026
South Africa’s social grant system paid an estimated R1.278 billion in social grants and Social Relief of Distress (SRD) payments to legally eligible foreign nationals during the 2025/26 financial year, according to Social Development Minister Dina Pule.
The figure was disclosed in a written parliamentary reply after African Transformation Movement MP Vuyo Zungula asked how much social grant funding had been paid to foreign nationals during the financial year.
The figure has attracted attention online, but the distinction between foreign nationals who are legally eligible for social assistance and people who are unlawfully present in South Africa is central to understanding what the R1.28 billion represents.
How Much Did SASSA Pay Foreign Nationals?
The total estimated amount was approximately R1.278 billion during the 2025/26 financial year.
The money was divided between three broad categories: permanent residents receiving ordinary social grants, recognised refugees receiving social grants, and qualifying foreign nationals receiving SRD payments under specific permit or asylum categories.
| Category | Estimated amount |
|---|---|
| Permanent residents | R1.12 billion |
| Recognised refugees | R150.8 million |
| Qualifying SRD recipients | R10.6 million |
| Total | R1.278 billion |
The figures are estimates for the 2025/26 financial year and were provided by the Social Development Minister in Parliament.
Permanent Residents Received the Largest Share
Permanent residents accounted for the largest portion of the expenditure.
SASSA spent an estimated R1.12 billion on social grants received by permanent residents during 2025/26, spread across several grant categories.
| Grant | Estimated spending |
|---|---|
| Older Persons Grant | R931.5 million |
| Child Support Grant | R134.5 million |
| Disability Grant | R31.7 million |
| Care Dependency Grant | R8.4 million |
| Grant-in-Aid | R6.6 million |
| Foster Child Grant | R3.8 million |
| Total | R1.12 billion |
The largest component was therefore the Older Persons Grant, accounting for R931.5 million of the estimated expenditure on permanent residents.
How Much Went to Refugees?
Recognised refugees accounted for an estimated R150.8 million in social grant expenditure during 2025/26.
According to the figures disclosed by Pule, R105.8 million went toward Child Support Grants, while R32.7 million went toward Older Persons Grants. Other grant categories made up the remainder.
Being a foreign national does not automatically exclude a person from South Africa’s social assistance system. The eligibility rules distinguish between different legal statuses, including permanent residents and recognised refugees.
What About the R10.6 Million in SRD Payments?
A further R10.6 million was paid through the Social Relief of Distress programme to foreign nationals who fell within qualifying categories.
| Category | SRD payments |
|---|---|
| Lesotho Exemption Permit holders | R9.18 million |
| Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holders | R448,810 |
| Asylum seekers | R962,370 |
| Special Angolan Dispensation Permit holders | R24,420 |
| Total | R10.6 million |
These payments relate to specific categories recognised under the relevant rules rather than to foreign nationals generally.
Does SASSA Pay Grants to Undocumented Immigrants?
This is where the distinction becomes important.
Pule said SASSA does not provide social grants or SRD benefits to people who are unlawfully present in South Africa. In her own words: “SASSA does not provide social grants or SRD benefits to illegal immigrants or any person unlawfully present in the Republic.”
She said SASSA’s eligibility verification processes include checks against Department of Home Affairs records and are intended to ensure that payments comply with the legislative framework governing social assistance.
SASSA has also previously addressed misinformation surrounding foreign nationals and the SRD programme. In January 2026, the agency said the SRD eligibility rules had not been changed to allow foreign nationals generally to receive the payment. It listed permanent residents, refugees, certain special-permit holders and qualifying asylum seekers among the categories that could potentially qualify, subject to the applicable requirements.
Why Can Some Foreign Nationals Receive South African Social Grants?
South Africa’s social assistance system does not operate on citizenship alone. Certain categories of non-South Africans can qualify for assistance where they meet the legal requirements applicable to the relevant grant or relief programme.
For example, SASSA’s stated SRD eligibility framework includes South African citizens as well as permanent residents, refugees, certain special-permit holders and qualifying asylum seekers. Applicants must also meet other requirements, including means-related and residency conditions applicable to the programme.
This means the phrase “foreign nationals received grants” needs additional context. It does not mean every foreign national living in South Africa qualifies for social assistance.
How Big Is R1.28 Billion Compared With South Africa’s Social Grant Budget?
According to Pule, the estimated R1.278 billion represented less than 1% of South Africa’s social assistance budget for the 2025/26 financial year.
For context, Parliament’s documentation on the 2025/26 budget recorded R266.2 billion in expenditure on the Department of Social Development’s social assistance programme at the point covered by its reporting. The department’s overall 2025/26 allocation was approximately R294 billion.
The R1.278 billion figure therefore needs to be viewed within the much larger national social-assistance system rather than as a standalone expenditure category.
What Social Grants Make Up Most of South Africa’s Welfare Spending?
The largest social grant programmes are directed towards vulnerable South Africans, particularly children and older people.
Parliament’s reporting on the 2025/26 social development budget noted that the Child Support Grant benefited approximately 13 million vulnerable children in the first quarter of the financial year, while the Older Persons Grant benefited approximately 4.2 million people aged 60 and above.
This provides context for understanding the scale of the R1.278 billion paid to eligible foreign nationals.
SASSA Is Also Reviewing Existing Grant Beneficiaries
The disclosure comes as SASSA continues a broader review of social grant beneficiaries.
In July 2026, Pule said SASSA had flagged more than 420,000 beneficiaries for review during 2025/26. More than 240,000 reviews had been completed, while approximately 160,000 beneficiaries had not completed the review process at that point.
Pule said the review process is intended to confirm that beneficiaries continue to meet the requirements for the grants they receive and to identify fraud, abuse and incorrect payments. For 2026/27, the department said it was targeting more than 350,000 reviews and projected savings of approximately R1.5 billion for the government fiscus.
SASSA’s Foreign National Grant System Explained
The important point is that legal status matters. A person being born outside South Africa does not, by itself, determine whether they can receive social assistance.
The applicable rules can cover permanent residents, recognised refugees and certain permit holders or asylum seekers, depending on the specific programme and whether the individual meets all eligibility requirements. At the same time, SASSA says people who are unlawfully present in South Africa are not eligible for social grants or SRD benefits.
The R1.278 billion figure therefore represents payments to specific legally eligible categories, not a blanket payment to foreign nationals living in South Africa.
Why the R1.28 Billion Figure Matters
The disclosure provides a rare, itemised breakdown of how much South Africa’s social assistance system paid to eligible non-citizens during a complete financial year. It also highlights a broader issue in South Africa’s welfare system: the distinction between citizenship, immigration status and eligibility for social assistance.
The largest portion of the money — approximately R1.12 billion — went to permanent residents, while recognised refugees accounted for about R150.8 million and qualifying foreign-national SRD recipients accounted for about R10.6 million. The total was approximately R1.278 billion, less than 1% of the country’s social assistance budget.
It’s also worth noting what this kind of disclosure represents beyond the numbers themselves. Transparent, itemised parliamentary reporting — figures broken down to the exact rand, tied to a named minister’s on-record reply — is precisely the kind of verifiable public data that pushes back against unsourced viral claims. Institutions that publish real, checkable numbers give the public something concrete to test speculation against, rather than leaving a vacuum for unverified figures to fill instead.
The Bottom Line
SASSA paid an estimated R1.278 billion to legally eligible foreign nationals during the 2025/26 financial year.
Most of the money went to permanent residents receiving ordinary social grants. Recognised refugees accounted for another portion, while a smaller amount went to qualifying holders of specific permits and asylum seekers through the SRD programme.
The figures do not show that undocumented immigrants were generally receiving South African social grants. The Social Development Minister specifically stated that SASSA does not provide social grants or SRD benefits to people unlawfully present in the country, while SASSA says its verification process includes checks against Home Affairs records.
The disclosure is therefore less straightforward than the headline “SASSA paid R1.28 billion to foreigners” suggests. The underlying figures concern specific categories of foreign nationals who were considered legally eligible under South Africa’s social-assistance rules.
SASSA R1.28 Billion Foreign Nationals FAQs
Did SASSA pay R1.28 billion to foreign nationals? Yes. An estimated R1.278 billion in social grants and SRD payments was allocated to legally eligible foreign nationals during the 2025/26 financial year, according to Social Development Minister Dina Pule’s parliamentary reply.
Did undocumented immigrants receive the R1.28 billion? According to the Social Development Minister, no. Pule said SASSA does not provide social grants or SRD benefits to people who are unlawfully present in South Africa.
How much did permanent residents receive? Permanent residents accounted for approximately R1.12 billion in social grant expenditure during 2025/26.
How much did recognised refugees receive? Recognised refugees accounted for approximately R150.8 million in social grant expenditure during the financial year.
How much SRD money went to qualifying foreign nationals? Approximately R10.6 million was paid through the SRD programme to qualifying foreign nationals in categories including Lesotho Exemption Permit holders, Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holders, asylum seekers and Special Angolan Dispensation Permit holders.
Can foreign nationals receive SASSA grants? Some foreign nationals can qualify under South Africa’s social assistance framework if they fall into an eligible category and meet the relevant requirements. SASSA’s stated SRD framework includes permanent residents, refugees, certain special-permit holders and qualifying asylum seekers.
What percentage of South Africa’s social assistance budget went to eligible foreign nationals? The Social Development Minister said the estimated R1.278 billion represented less than 1% of South Africa’s social assistance budget for 2025/26.
