Nokuthula Ngcobo
The Constitutional Court has refused the Road Accident Fund (RAF) leave to appeal a ruling that allows foreign nationals who were in South Africa unlawfully at the time of a motor vehicle accident to claim compensation under the RAF Act.
The order, issued on 15 September 2026 in RAF v Adam Mudawo and Others, provides that the RAF’s application must be dismissed with costs because it has no reasonable prospects of success. The Constitutional Court also granted the respondents permission to file their answering affidavits late.
The order means that the Supreme Court of Appeal’s April 2026 judgement remains in place. The court found that section 17(1) of the RAF Act, which says the Fund must compensate “any person” for qualifying loss or damage caused by negligent driving, does not exclude people based on their immigration status.
In simple terms, being in South Africa without the required immigration status does not, on its own, prevent a person from lodging a qualifying RAF claim after being injured in a road accident.
In simple terms, being in South Africa without the required immigration status does not, on its own, prevent a person from lodging a qualifying RAF claim after being injured in a road accident.
The dispute began in 2022, when the RAF introduced a management directive requiring foreign claimants to provide proof that they were legally in South Africa when the accident happened. The Minister of Transport also changed the RAF 1 claim form to require foreign claimants to provide documentary proof of their legal status.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) found that neither the RAF nor the Minister had the power to add this exclusion because the RAF Act itself does not make immigration status a requirement for a claimant. It held that the words “any person” must be given their ordinary, broad meaning. The court also rejected the RAF’s argument that the Immigration Act allowed it to exclude undocumented foreign nationals from the compensation scheme.
The ruling does not mean every foreign national involved in a road accident automatically qualifies for compensation. The normal requirements of a RAF claim still apply. A claimant must have suffered qualifying loss or damage arising from bodily injury or death caused by the negligent driving of a motor vehicle in South Africa and the claim must comply with the RAF Act.
The Constitutional Court’s order closes the RAF’s latest attempt to overturn the SCA’s interpretation. Any change to the position would therefore require a change to the law, rather than a new RAF directive or claim-form requirement.
For people dealing with the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident, the legal position can still be difficult to navigate. RoadCover manages qualifying RAF claims from start to finish, including the legal and administrative requirements involved in pursuing a claim. For members whose claims are successfully settled, 100% of the RAF settlement is paid to them, with no legal fees or expenses deducted.