POPI Act — Protection of Personal Information Act
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), also known as the POPI Act, is South Africa's comprehensive data privacy legislation. It was enacted as Act 4 of 2013 and became fully enforceable on 1 July 2021.
Relevance to Immigration
Immigration practitioners handle sensitive personal data including passport numbers, medical records, financial information, and biometric data. POPIA requires that this information be collected for a specific, lawful purpose, stored securely, and not retained longer than necessary.
Key Principles
- Accountability — the responsible party must ensure compliance
- Purpose limitation — data may only be processed for the purpose it was collected
- Minimality — only data that is necessary should be collected
- Security safeguards — appropriate measures must protect personal information
- Data subject participation — individuals have the right to access and correct their data