Making Asylum Seekers More Vulnerable in South Africa

The Negative Effects of Hostile Asylum Policies on Livelihoods

Bibliographic Data

ID9954783
AuthorsSergio Carciotto (0000-0002-5142-2081, Institute for Development Studies University of the Western Cape Cape Town South Africa, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume59
Issue5
Pages3-18
Publication date2020-10-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.12788
OpenAlexW3096885394
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited41

In post‐apartheid South Africa, migration policies and legislation have left critical issues such as social cohesion and integration unsolved. Furthermore, the inability to reconcile the national interest of maintaining borders’ integrity with respecting moral and legal obligations has placed the asylum system under tremendous stress. Drawing from secondary sources, as well as qualitative interviews, this paper explores the development of new asylum policies aimed at curtailing asylum seekers’ right to work in South Africa. The study’s findings provide support for the conclusions of earlier research that highlights the consequences of hostile policies and practices for asylum seekers’ livelihoods. The author argues that curtailments on asylum seekers’ right to work will have many possible socio‐economic ramifications. In the immediate term, the legislation seeks to inhibit asylum seekers from engaging in self‐employment, while in the long run it may achieve the undesired effect of producing more precarious forms of livelihood

Criminology · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Legislation · Livelihood · Political science · Refugee · Seekers · Sociology · Work (physics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Refugees, and Integration

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