South Africa has a progressive, integrative, urban refugee policy that encourages forced migrants – refugees and asylum seekers – to self-settle and integrate. Unlike other countries, there are no refugee camps in South Africa; forced migrants are not afforded any special support from the government. The South African Constitution (The Republic of South Africa, 1996) and the Refugee Act (The Republic of South
Africa, 1998), affords particular rights through protective legislation to refugees and asylum seekers. This includes the right to employment and access to social services, including free basic healthcare. More recent legislation has confirmed that this includes access to free basic healthcare and free ART for both refugees and
asylum seekers - with or without a permit (NDOH, 2007a). However, many challenges are experienced by refugees and asylum seekers when attempting to access healthcare, and other services; protective policies have not transformed into protective practices (for example, see CoRMSA, 2011; IOM, 2010; Landau, 2006; Moyo, 2010; Vearey, 2008a; Vearey, 2011a).
