Sassa Allocates Less Than 1% to Legal Foreign Nationals

The Social Development Department confirmed that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) does not provide social assistance benefits to illegal immigrants. This clarification aligns with the agency's reported allocation of less than 1% of its budget to legal foreign nationals.

According to the department, R1.27bn was spent on grants for legal foreign nationals, including permanent residents and refugees, during the 2025/26 financial year. This expenditure covered various grant types such as the care dependency grant and disability grant.

The department of social development stated that the total social assistance budget for 2025/2026 saw foreign nationals' eligibility for social assistance account for less than 1%. This figure highlights the proportion of funds directed toward legal foreign nationals.