US announces visa restrictions targeting some South Africans over land and racial policies

The United States has announced a new visa restriction policy targeting certain foreign nationals from South Africa whom Washington says are responsible for policies involving uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination or incitement of violence.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measure as relations between Washington and Pretoria continue to face tensions.

The restrictions apply to individuals the US government determines were responsible for, or complicit in, implementing policies that Washington says enable uncompensated land seizures, racial discrimination or the incitement of imminent violence against minority groups.

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised South African policies aimed at addressing racial and economic inequality, including land reform measures.

Washington has also raised concerns about South Africa’s Expropriation Act and aspects of Black Economic Empowerment policy.

The South African government has defended its land reform and economic transformation policies, arguing that they must be understood in the context of apartheid-era dispossession and continuing inequality.

The visa measures are part of a wider deterioration in relations between the two countries.

The US policy also allows restrictions to extend in some circumstances to immediate family members of affected individuals.