The Immigration Act says that every person who is not a South African citizen and who wants to come to South Africa must come in through a legal ‘port of entry.’ That means a border crossing by road or railway, or an airport, or a sea port where there is proper border control with immigration officials and police persons as well as customs officials. This is applicable for entering and departing the Republic. People who enter otherwise are illegally present in the country and if they are found they will be deported.

In order to enter South Africa legally a person must have a valid passport from her/ his country, or a certificate applied for and issued by the home affairs department.

Such persons must also have some kind of permit to enter South Africa. If it is not the case, their passport must be valid for not less than 30 days after the expiry of their intended stay. There are two kinds of permits: permanent residence/ immigration permits and temporary residence permits (legislation makes provision for no less than 13 types of temporary residence permits).