US Announces Visa Restrictions For South Africans Over Racial Justice Policies
Washington says the new measures will target individuals accused of promoting race-based discrimination, inciting violence or enabling land confiscation without compensation.
The United States has announced new visa restrictions on South Africans, further straining relations between Washington and Pretoria amid continuing disputes over South Africa’s post-apartheid racial justice policies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the restrictions would apply to people who promote what Washington described as “race-based discrimination”, incite violence or enable land confiscation without compensation.
The announcement did not identify any individuals who would initially be affected by the measures.
Rubio said the policy reflected President Donald Trump’s criticism of South African government policies aimed at addressing racial and economic inequalities that persist more than three decades after the end of apartheid.
Visa Restrictions Add To Growing Tensions
Rubio said the South African government was failing its people and accused it of harming the economy through what he called “an obsessive pursuit of racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority”.
His comments echoed Trump’s repeated criticism of South Africa’s land and employment policies, which are intended to address inequalities created under apartheid.
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Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly since Trump returned to the White House. Washington has cut aid to South Africa, expelled the South African ambassador and intensified criticism of Pretoria’s policies.
Trump has also promoted a programme allowing white Afrikaners to settle in the United States, describing them as people facing persecution in South Africa.
Trump Has Repeatedly Criticised South Africa
In 2025, Trump confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting in the Oval Office over claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa. The claims have been widely disputed.
The US president has also imposed high tariffs on South African goods and boycotted a G20 summit hosted in Johannesburg, adding to diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The latest visa measures come as the Trump administration continues a broader crackdown on immigration while maintaining a separate pathway for white South Africans to relocate to the United States.
Pretoria Seeks To Limit Economic Fallout
South Africa has meanwhile sought to protect its trade relationship with the United States as tariffs threaten to increase pressure on an economy already facing severe unemployment.
The South African government said last month that it was prepared to offer the United States a “generous” new trade agreement in an effort to avert further tariff-related economic damage and potential job losses.
The latest US announcement adds another point of contention to an increasingly strained bilateral relationship, although the measures announced on Tuesday did not specify which South Africans would face visa restrictions.
