Sassa chief executive Busisiwe Memela has described how the social security agency plans to identify and pay eligible beneficiaries who are not South African citizens.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will screen applicants against other databases to see whether they qualify.

Memela says these databases will include the SA Revenue Service (Sars), the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

On Tuesday, President Ramaphosa announced that the unemployed citizens of South Africa will be getting an unemployment grant of R350 per month for the next six months. The SASSA CEO has also started that foreign nationals can also apply, however, only legal foreigners can apply. 

The SASSA CEO stated that foreign nationals can apply for the unemployment grant under two conditions. The condition being that you need to have legal papers to be in South Africa. The second condition is that you have to be registered as a refugee in order to qualify for the grant. 

Apart from legal foreigners, in order to qualify for the R350 unemployment grant, you would have to be unemployed, not receiving any other payment or grant and not receiving UIF money. 

One doesn’t qualify If they are already receiving children’s grant, disability grant or elderly grant. CEO of SASSA said they are hoping that applications will start on the first week of May 2020.