South Africa pays 1.28 billion rand in grants to foreigners
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL
Illustrative image · Jsme MILA · Pexels · Licence PexelsSouth Africa allocated around 1.28 billion rand in social grants to permanent residents, recognised refugees and other eligible foreign nationals during the 2025-2026 financial year. Permanent residents received the largest share, notably for old-age grants, according to a parliamentary response from the Department of Social Development.
South Africa allocated around 1.28 billion rand (nearly 1.28 billion rand) to social grants paid to foreign nationals during the 2025-2026 financial year, representing less than 1% of the social assistance budget, according to a written response from the Department of Social Development to Parliament, reported by IOL.
Permanent residents received the largest share, with 1.116 billion rand, or 0.45% of the social budget. Recognised refugees received 150.8 million rand, representing 0.06% of the budget, while 10.6 million rand was distributed to eligible foreign nationals under the 370-rand SRD grant, according to the department.
For permanent residents, the old-age grant accounted for 931.5 million rand, ahead of the child support grant at 134.5 million rand and the disability grant at 31.7 million rand. Recognised refugees received 105.8 million rand in child grants and 32.7 million rand in old-age grants, according to the parliamentary response cited by IOL.
