US announces visa restrictions for individual South African citizens

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions on individual South Africans involved in racial discrimination, incitement to violence against minorities and illegal land grabs. The decision was made as part of President Donald Trump’s executive order of February 2025 to respond to South Africa’s “flagrant actions.”.

The restrictions included officials, lawmakers and activists who promoted land expropriation without compensation. According to the US State Department, the list also includes persons involved in discriminatory policies against white minorities. Sanctions also apply to family members of these persons. The list of names has not been published, and it is only possible to find out about the ban when applying for a visa or trying to enter the US.

Washington attributed the measure to "deep concern" over racially motivated crimes against Afrikaners. The U.S. embassy statement cited threats of land seizures and "incitement to violence through dehumanizing slogans" with a reference to the song "Kill the Boer." Marco Rubio said South African authorities had previously “inadequately responded” to Washington’s concerns, which is why the US applied visa restrictions.

South African authorities say that the land reform is aimed at eliminating the consequences of apartheid, not at infringing on the rights of white people. The land forfeiture law allows for zero compensation in some cases if it is deemed “fair and expedient”. The Trump administration, by contrast, considers this provision and the Black Economic Empowerment Policy (BEE) to be discriminatory against the white minority. South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has called the imposition of visa restrictions a sign of the government’s “political failure.”.

Anna Barysheva