KwaZulu-Natal has emerged as the province with the highest number of business registration applications and approvals from foreign nationals, as government data shows more than 42,000 applications were submitted by June 24.
More than 42,000 foreign nationals have applied to register businesses in South Africa, according to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, as the government moves to tighten the regulation of informal traders ahead of planned protests.
Chairperson Mmamoloko Kubay said the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has launched a programme to accelerate small business registration to ensure all traders operate legally and have the necessary permits.
“The cumulative permitting and licensing data as at 24 June 2026 show 100,733 applications received nationally, of which 42,151 relate to applications where the owner is a foreign national.
“Of the total applications, 26,367 were approved, including 6,749 approvals where the owner is a foreign national,” she said.
