Ireland deports 42 South Africans over immigration violations
Ireland has deported 42 South African nationals who were residing illegally in the country, spending an initial €735,000 (about $845,000) on the operation as part of its ongoing immigration enforcement efforts.
The group — made up of nine men, 18 women and 15 children travelling as family units — departed Dublin Airport on a chartered flight on Thursday and arrived in Johannesburg on Friday morning, The Irish Times reports.
The operation was Ireland’s fourth charter deportation flight of 2026.
The deportees were removed from the country under deportation orders issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. Such orders are enforced when individuals are found to be living illegally in Ireland and decline the option of voluntarily returning to their home country.
Irish authorities also revealed that two members of the group had previous criminal convictions in Ireland.
Although South Africa is designated by Ireland as a safe country of origin, South African nationals may still qualify for international protection if they can provide evidence showing they face a direct threat to their safety at home.
Irish Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said the government remained committed to enforcing immigration laws while acknowledging that most South Africans living in Ireland do so legally.
“Our immigration system must be rules-based and robust,” O’Callaghan was quoted as saying. “The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure there is public confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.”
The minister noted that the €735,000 figure represents the preliminary cost of the deportation exercise, adding that the final amount will only be known after the completion of the invoicing process.
O’Callaghan further disclosed that Thursday’s operation was the fourth deportation charter flight conducted by Ireland this year. The previous three operations resulted in the removal of 130 people from the country, including 67 European Union citizens deported on grounds of criminality.
The development comes as South Africa continues to face its own challenges over irregular migration, with growing public debate around undocumented migrants and increasing calls for stricter immigration enforcement within the country.
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