The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting certain South African nationals over what the Trump administration described as race-based discrimination and policies involving uncompensated land seizures.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the restrictions on Tuesday, saying they would apply to foreign nationals who are responsible for or complicit in the enactment or implementation of laws or policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, racial discrimination or incitement of imminent violence against racial or ethnic minorities in South Africa.
The policy was introduced under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the US to restrict the entry of foreign nationals when their presence could have serious adverse consequences for US foreign policy.
No specific South African officials were named in the announcement.
Rubio said the South African government had failed to adequately address concerns previously raised by the Trump administration over its treatment of Afrikaners and other minority groups.
South Africa has rejected allegations that its government is persecuting white citizens and has defended its land reform policies.
The visa restrictions add to growing tensions between Washington and Pretoria under US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s administration has previously criticised South Africa’s land policies and accused the government of discrimination against white Afrikaners. Pretoria has rejected those claims.
The latest restrictions are aimed at individuals involved in the policies identified by the US government, rather than a blanket visa ban on South African nationals.
The US State Department did not identify the number of people expected to be affected by the new policy.