JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- More than 4.9 million travelers passed through South Africa's 71 ports of entry during the festive season from Dec. 10, 2025, to Jan. 15, 2026, a government official said on Friday.
Briefing the media in Pretoria, South Africa's Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Michael Masiapato said the total included about 3.53 million foreign nationals and 1.37 million South Africans processed during the period.
He said the border authorities processed 340,876 private vehicles, 9,072 minibuses and 10,349 buses at land ports, while 7,787 aircraft and 243 vessels were handled through air and sea ports, respectively.
During the same period, the BMA intercepted 26,852 people attempting to enter the country without valid documentation, a 46-percent decline from the 58,394 cases recorded in the previous year, he added.
"Of this total, about 22,153 were undocumented with no travel documents at all," Masiapato said, adding that 2,353 were declared undesirable for overstaying, and 2,346 were found inadmissible due to invalid documents, including passports and yellow-fever certificates.
According to the BMA, the majority of attempted illegal entries involved nationals from neighboring countries, with Lesotho accounting for 14,828 cases, followed by Zimbabwe with 5,370 and Mozambique with 1,373.
Attributing the reduction mainly to the deployment of drones for border control, the commissioner said: "The BMA has managed to intercept more than 530,145 individuals who attempted to enter South Africa illegally since July 2022 following the deployment of the first contingent of Border Guards."
Citing the cases involving abandoned infants and attempted child trafficking, the commissioner also expressed concern over a rise in unaccompanied minors at the borders during the festive season.
South Africa operates 71 ports of entry, comprising 52 land borders, 10 international airports and nine seaports. ■