By Favour Ulebor

South Africa has announced plans to begin charging foreign governments, including Nigeria, for the cost of deporting their citizens who violate the country’s immigration laws.

The decision comes as the South African government intensifies efforts to tackle illegal migration amid growing anti immigration sentiments in the country.

According to reports by Channel Africa, the policy was disclosed by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

The department said the government would seek to recover expenses incurred in detaining and deporting undocumented foreign nationals.

South African authorities said more than 100,000 undocumented migrants have been deported in the last two years, placing a heavy financial burden on the government.

Under the new arrangement, countries whose citizens are arrested and deported for immigration offences will be expected to bear the cost of their repatriation.

The department said: “Moving forward, we will also be billing countries for their foreign nationals who have to be deported or who are in our criminal detention facilities and have to be deported back into their countries.”

It added that the government would work through the Department of Home Affairs to ensure the policy is implemented.