SIHMA

Researching Human Migration across Africa

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10 Mar

Belonging Denied: How Neoliberal Inclusion Still Excludes Naturalised citizens in South Africa

South Africa is widely known as the “Rainbow Nation”, a country that accepts and celebrates diversity, equality and inclusion. The ideology reflects the nation’s aspiration to create a society where people of different cultures, races and background can coexist equally as citizens. However, for many legal immigrants in south Africa, this promise of belonging remains incomplete.

 

Research by Yvonne Zama Sibaya on “The middling Citizenship Trap” highlights the contradiction within citizenship systems (Yvonne Zama Sibaya , 2025). Her work shows that even highly skilled citizens and naturalised immigrants often find themselves in a contradictory position. While they are legally accepted within the nation through citizenships, they are still socially excluded in everyday life. This reflects a larger system of neoliberal exclusionary inclusion, where immigrants are welcomed only primarily for their contribution to the economy, but still treated as outsiders in social and cultural spaces.

Under neoliberal thinking, migration policies often prioritise economic value, productivity and global competitiveness (Jonathan D. Ostry, Prakash Loungani, and Davide Furceri, 2016). Skilled migrants, investors and professionals are therefore seen as desirable due to the fact that they contribute to the country’s economic growth and development. South Africa’s proposed immigration reform reflects this approach by promoting a more controlled and merit-based system that prioritises migrants with valuable skills and investment potentials (DHA, 2026).

 

While these policies appear inclusive on the surface, they also create new forms of inequality. Sibaya’s concept of “Middling citizenship trap” describes the fact that naturalised citizens exist between two realities (Yvonne Zama Sibaya , 2025). On one side, they obtained:

1. They have obtained legal citizenship and right that comes with it.

2. And on the other hand, they continue to face, suspicions, xenophobia and social barriers that prevents full acceptance within society.

This contradiction highlights a central tension within neoliberal migration governance. Neoliberal systems promote open markets, global mobility and the movement of skilled workers across the borders (Christopher Changwe Nshimbi , 2022). Skilled migrants are encouraged to settle and contribute to the economy, yet public discourse and social attitudes sometimes portray immigrants as an economic and cultural threats (Asafika Mpako and Stephen Ndoma, 2026).

 

The experienced of naturalised citizens, as stated and written in the research done by Yvonne Zama Sibaya shows that legal recognition of professional migrants isn’t enough to guarantee a genuine sense of belonging. Rather than focusing on economic contributions, policies and social frameworks need to also prioritise social inclusion, dignity and recognition. Therefore, resulting in the fulfilment of the promise of a “Rainbow Nation”, where citizenship extends beyond legal status and becomes a lived experience of acceptance and shared belonging.

 

Read the full Article: https://sihma.org.za/storage/journals/AHMR%2011:3%204.%20The%20Middling%20Citizenship%20Trap-%20Belonging%20Denied%20Through%20Neoliberal%20Exclusionary%20Inclusion%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf

 

References

Asafika Mpako and Stephen Ndoma. ( 2026, Jan 10 ). South Africans oppose immigration, express mixed attitudes toward foreigners. Retrieved from Afro Barometer: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad1108-south-africans-oppose-immigration-express-mixed-attitudes-toward-foreigners/

Christopher Changwe Nshimbi . (2022). Ir)relevant doctrines and African realities: neoliberal and Marxist influences on labour. Retrieved from Department of Political Sciences, university of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa : https://repository.up.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/911db61d-1c7a-4917-8876-c822a295760a/content

DHA. (2026, January 14). Draft revised White paper on citizenship, migration and refugee protection. Retrieved from South African Government: https://www.dha.gov.za/images/gazettes/53853-12-12-HomeAffairs.pdf

Jonathan D. Ostry, Prakash Loungani, and Davide Furceri. (2016, June ). Neoliberalism: Oversold? Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2016/06/pdf/ostry.pdf

Yvonne Zama Sibaya . (2025, December 22 ). The Middling Citizenship Trap: Belonging Denied Through Neoliberal Exclusionary Inclusion in South Africa. Retrieved from SIHMA: https://sihma.org.za/storage/journals/AHMR%2011:3%204.%20The%20Middling%20Citizenship%20Trap-%20Belonging%20Denied%20Through%20Neoliberal%20Exclusionary%20Inclusion%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf

 

 

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