In July 2022, the Department of Social Development confirmed that it has received 11.4 million applications for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
This came after President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted the state of the nation disaster in April 2022, new regulations were implemented.
During this time, a total of 31 207 non-citizens applied for the grant, of which mostly were special permit holders from Lesotho (15 802), Zimbabwe (1613) and Angola (1579), respectively.
As per the SRD grant requirements, permanent resident or refugee registered individuals on the Home Affairs system also qualify for the grant as long as they are residents within the borders of South Africa.
In a statement, South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has announced that Asylum Seekers will need to follow these steps to receive their SRD grant payments:
- Asylum Seekers can retrieve their Sassa system-generated number on the SRD website
- This number will be used to collect payment at selected merchants such as Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer Stores. The cellphone containing the number registered at Sassa must be present during collection as confirmation of funds withdrawal will be sent to that number.
- To change or update the cellphone number, please contact the Sassa call centre at 0800 60 10 11.
- Asylum seekers whose permit/file numbers have expired should re-apply using the new permit/file number.
Payments for the approved periods, when the permit was still valid, will still be processed.
Although Sassa has a fixed payment schedule for various social grants, there is no fixed date for the temporary SRD grant.
SRD grant applicants have been advised to check their application status online to confirm their payment dates.
How Much Has Been Paid Into SRD Grants for Asylum Seekers?
In 2022, Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi confirmed that the government agency paid R97 Million in SRD grants payments ever since the grant has been introduced.
More than R34 million in SRD payments to were made to refugees and R63 million in payments were made to asylum seekers.
It is important to note that the SRD grant will continue to be paid until at least March 2024 to qualifying SRD grant applicants. The grant is aimed at providing financial support to the country's qualifying and vulnerable population.
