The United States Department of State has announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals responsible for, or complicit in, the enactment or implementation of laws and policies in South Africa that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, and/or the incitement of imminent violence against members of minority ethnic or racial groups.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement on September 15, 2026, citing ongoing concerns outlined in President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14204, “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa.”
“The United States remains gravely concerned about racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination occurring against the Afrikaners and other minority populations in South Africa, including race-based discriminatory legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and incitement of racial violence through dehumanizing chants and slogans,” Rubio stated.
He added that the South African government “has not adequately addressed the previously laid out concerns,” and that the new policy is being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision allows the Secretary of State to deem inadmissible any alien whose entry would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. Certain family members of those targeted may also be covered by the restrictions.
The measures are not a blanket ban on South African citizens. Instead, they specifically target individuals involved in policies related to land expropriation without compensation, race-based measures (including aspects of Black Economic Empowerment), and related actions. No public list of affected individuals has been released.
The announcement escalates diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria. The Trump administration has previously criticized South Africa’s Expropriation Act, which allows for expropriation of property in the public interest and, in limited circumstances, zero compensation.
South African officials maintain that the law is a measured response to historical land inequalities stemming from apartheid and colonialism, does not permit arbitrary seizures, and operates under constitutional protections and due process.
South Africa has rejected U.S. characterizations of its policies as discriminatory against white minorities, including Afrikaners, and has emphasized that land reform addresses longstanding disparities in ownership.