The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting certain foreign nationals linked to policies Washington says promote race-based discrimination, incite violence against minority groups or enable land seizures without compensation in South Africa.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on Tuesday, as tensions between Washington and Pretoria continue over issues including race-based policies and land reform.
In a statement, Rubio said the restrictions would apply to people responsible for, or complicit in, what the US describes as race-based discrimination, the incitement of imminent violence against minority racial or ethnic groups, and policies that enable uncompensated land seizures.
The US says it remains concerned about racially motivated crime and what it describes as government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and other minority groups. These are allegations made by the US administration and have been rejected by South African authorities.
The latest move follows a series of disputes between the Trump administration and the South African government.
In 2025, US President Donald Trump confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting in the Oval Office over allegations of a “white genocide” in South Africa. Ramaphosa rejected those claims, describing them as misinformation.
The Trump administration has also taken other measures affecting relations with South Africa, including tariffs on South African goods and criticism of the country's land reform policies. Reuters reports that no specific individuals were named when the new visa policy was announced.
The South African government has maintained that its land reform policies are aimed at addressing the country's historical inequalities and has rejected allegations of a campaign against white South Africans.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel has also previously stated that there is no genocide of white farmers in South Africa.
The new visa restrictions are targeted at individuals Washington says are involved in the specified activities and do not amount to a blanket visa ban on South African travellers.