This edited volume interrogates the intersection between viral pandemics transnational migration and the politics of belonging in South Africa during COVID19. The chapters draw on theoretical conceptions such as biopolitics necropolitics xenophobioafrophobia and autochthonous citizenship to understand how South Africa has responded to the devastating effects of COVID19 and the implications for the lives and livelihoods of African migrants.ampampampnbspThe book is written against the backdrop of deepening socioeconomic and political problems in South Africa which have been exacerbated by the pandemic exclusionary response strategies employed by the government and populist discourses about the dangers of hosting an increasing population of African migrants. Drawing on the experiences of migrants from Cameroon DRC Nigeria Somalia and Zimbabwe this book explores the challenges of these diaspora communities during lockdowns their survival strategies and the effects on their social existence during and post the pandemic.