{"id":8511,"date":"2026-11-10T08:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T07:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/?p=8511"},"modified":"2026-11-11T11:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T10:31:00","slug":"washington-vs-pretoria-implications-of-the-new-us-visa-restrictions-for-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/2026\/11\/10\/washington-vs-pretoria-implications-of-the-new-us-visa-restrictions-for-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington vs Pretoria: Implications of the New US Visa Restrictions for South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

South Africa and the United States’ relations have been on a downward spiral since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tension escalated after Washington announced new visa restrictions targeting certain South African nationals over alleged involvement in policies that the US says enable race-based discrimination, uncompensated land seizures and violence against minority groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the travel sanctions on September 15, 2026, but did not say which individuals would be denied entry to the US. In November 2025, the US revoked visas for South Africa\u2019s former International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor, for criticising political decisions in the US including support for Israel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio accused South Africa of failing to address race-based discriminatory policies against Afrikaners and other minority populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US claimed that white people, who make up around 4.5 million of South Africa\u2019s estimated 62 million population, and especially the Afrikaner group, are being discriminated against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US cited a controversial South African law permitting the expropriation of unused private land without compensation in some circumstances, affirmative action policies that advance opportunities for black people and others, and a small number of violent crimes against white farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUS visas will be revoked and visa applications rejected for ‘foreign nationals who enact or enable policies that promote race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa,” Rubio posted on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Sky News, South Africa’s foreign ministry \u200csaid that “the announcement aligned with the mischaracterisation of South Africa’s domestic policies \u2060by fringe groups.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The announcement once again, [sic] aligns with the mischaracterisation of South Africa’s domestic policies by fringe groups who wrongly portray themselves as representatives of ‘minorities’ and Afrikaners in general,” said South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola in a statement from the International Relations and Co-operation Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamola said that South Africa retains a sovereign right to enact laws aimed at improving the plight of historically excluded citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polity Daily News & Bookshelf Newsletter reports that the minister defended South Africa’s legal frameworks, citing the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act 16 of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is our sovereign right to put in place laws that address the nation\u2019s concern over centuries of racial injustice. We maintain that challenges in our bilateral relations with the USA can only be resolved by constructive engagement through State actors on both sides of the diplomatic channel, not unilateral acts,” Lamola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Daily Maverick, the South African government was surprised by the US travel sanctions coming at a time when the US ambassador to South Africa had publicly acknowledged that Pretoria has addressed two of Washington\u2019s five key domestic demands (the \u201cfive asks\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pretoria said it is engaging actively with the US on the other three demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alistair Ruiters, President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s special adviser and a key negotiator with the US, said that US ambassador Brent Bozell had claimed that Pretoria had refused to address the five asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five asks of South Africa are: Declare farm murders a priority crime; the government must distance itself from the \u2018Kill the Boer\u2019 song; protect property rights by stopping Expropriation without Compensation policies; remove Black Economic Empowerment and other race-based laws; and the ANC must end its close relations with Iran and its proxies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs has been made absolutely clear, the time for endless \u2018dialogue\u2019 has run its course. No more. America has just so much patience. We want strong, and lasting relations with the South African government. It needs to show it wants the same. So far it has shown it cares for neither. As a result, the consequences, as I\u2019ve attempted time and again to express, are necessarily going to be severe. This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America\u2019s firm resolve in this matter,\u201d Bozell posted on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruiters accused Bozell of being insincere, saying he had acknowledged in an interview with Business Day that SA had addressed the ask that Pretoria should not interfere in President Donald Trump administration\u2019s programme of offering refugee status to Afrikaners, whom it claims are being persecuted in SA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruiters said Bozell had also acknowledged that SA had addressed the US demand to rescind expropriation without compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe both agree that the process is in the Constitutional Court. The ambassador agreed, so we\u2019re waiting for the outcome,\u201d Ruiters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, also condemned the visa restrictions, calling them an affront to South Africa’s sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The hypocrisy of Washington’s position is breathtaking. It lectures South Africa, while arming Israel amid the reported killing of more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strained relations between Washington and Pretoria have seen President Trump cut aid, expel the South African ambassador and offer “refuge” to white South Africans fleeing “persecution.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the BBC, President Trump offered refugee status to Afrikaners last year after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to seize land without compensation in rare instances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation allows the state to expropriate property in the public interest and provides for circumstances in which compensation may be set at zero. But it also requires authorities, in most cases, to first try to reach an agreement with property owners, and disputes can be taken to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land ownership remains a highly sensitive issue in South Africa despite the end of apartheid, under which the black majority was dispossessed of land and denied many basic rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is our sovereign right to put in place laws that address the nation’s concern over centuries of racial injustice,” South Africa’s government said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, on March 14, 2025, US Secretary of State Rubio declared South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool “persona non grata,” expelling him from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This followed Rasool\u2019s comments during a webinar hosted by a South African think tank, where he discussed demographic shifts in the US and suggested that the Trump administration\u2019s policies reflected a “supremacist instinct.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio responded by calling Rasool a “race-baiting politician” and accused him of harbouring hatred for the US and President Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diplomatic tension between Washington and Pretoria further escalated after South African officials were barred from meetings of the Group of 20 economic bloc in the US and aid for South Africa’s HIV treatment programme was stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFP reports that the United States took over the year-long presidency of the group of leading economies after largely boycotting South Africa’s tenure, including the November summit, in an escalation of its attacks on Pretoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Secretary of State said that South Africa would not be invited to the US-run G20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in response that South Africa would sit out the 2026 series of meetings and resume participation when the G20 is handed to Britain in a year’s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For now, we will take a commercial break until we resume normal programming,” Magwenya said on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The G20 group of nations includes the world’s top economies as well as the European Union and the African Union regional blocs. It accounts for 85 per cent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Johannesburg summit, the first in Africa, was attended by a host of world leaders, including those from countries not in the G20, but President Trump boycotted it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Trump issued an executive order against South Africa in February 2025, Ramaphosa\u2019s government said \u201cthe foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa\u2019s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation,\u201d it continued, adding that \u201cAfrikaners were \u2018amongst the most economically privileged\u2019 groups in South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Ramaphosa has previously described Trump\u2019s Afrikaner refugee policy as \u201cuninformed\u201d and \u201cracist\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BBC reports that South Africa made efforts to mend tensions with the US following President Ramaphosa\u2019s visit to the White House in May 2025 with a delegation that included white members of his coalition government and famous white South African golfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Trump ambushed the Oval Office meeting with claims that white South African farmers were being killed and “persecuted”, producing unsubstantiated evidence that has been widely discredited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further efforts by South Africa to mend the relationship have failed, after it was hit by 30 per cent tariffs on goods being exported to the US – the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, President Ramaphosa expressed his willingness to engage with the United States, just as they do with other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AFP reports that South Africa recently said it would offer a “generous” new trade deal to the United States as it seeks to avoid hefty tariffs that threaten job losses on top of a dire unemployment crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The discussions have highlighted the need for any resolution to consider South Africa’s unique circumstances and to respect its democracy, constitution, sovereignty, and the will of its people,” Lamola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Democratic Alliance, land reform in South Africa faces challenges due to inefficiencies, corruption, and a lack of clear policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apartheid regime\u2019s legacy of unequal land distribution continues to create economic, social, and cultural divides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redistribution, a key part of land reform in Section 25(5) of the Constitution, aims for equitable access, but true equity remains elusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land redistribution in South Africa faces a myriad of challenges rooted in systemic governance failures. An estimated 70 to 90 per cent of all land reform projects (redistribution and restitution) have failed, mainly because of a lack of departmental capacity to provide the requisite support and effective monitoring and evaluation. Notably, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) struggles with high vacancy rates and high levels of corruption, resulting in the misallocation of resources meant for beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official website of the United States notes that Washington and Pretoria have enjoyed a bilateral relationship with collaboration in the areas of health, education, environment, and the digital economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States first opened a consulate in Cape Town in 1799, and in 1929 established formal diplomatic relations with South Africa after the United Kingdom recognised South Africa\u2019s autonomy within the British Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States played an important role in support of South Africa\u2019s 1994 democratic transition. In October 1994, US President Bill Clinton received newly elected President Nelson Mandela on his first state visit to the United States with a State Dinner and public appearances. In 1995, the US-South African Binational Commission was launched to support the rebuilding of South Africa, and President Clinton visited South Africa in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States and South Africa share strong ties, significant economic and political interests, as well as common development objectives throughout Africa. As a strong democracy and sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s most developed economy, South Africa plays a key economic and political role on the African continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa is eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The country belongs to the Southern African Customs Union, which signed a Trade, Investment, and Development Cooperation Agreement (TIDCA) with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TIDCA establishes a forum for consultative discussions, cooperative work, and possible agreements on a wide range of trade issues, with a special focus on customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and trade and investment promotion. The United States and South Africa have a bilateral tax treaty eliminating double taxation. A bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement is in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to AFP, South Africa is the United States’ largest trading partner on the African continent, with more than 500 US businesses and 30,000 US citizens based in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US\u2013South Africa bilateral trade hit an estimated $28.8 billion in 2025 despite the strained relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa and the United States’ relations have been on a downward spiral since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025. The tension escalated after Washington announced new visa restrictions targeting certain South African nationals over alleged involvement in policies that the US says enable race-based discrimination, uncompensated land seizures and violence against minority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":8748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,30,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-governance","category-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8751,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8511\/revisions\/8751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}