Cape Town – Zimbabweans living in South Africa have been given slight relief as the Home Affairs Department has announced it will be gazetting the extension of the Zimbabwean permits today.
The extension was made on Wednesday, by Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.
According to Motsoaledi, he has taken all factors into consideration and extended the Zimbabwean exemption permits for a further six months.
In September last year, Motsoaledi extended permits until June 2023.
Since the initial extension, Motsoaledi has approved thousands of waiver applications of the affected Zimbabwean nationals.
“This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of visa and waiver applications. The departmental advisory committee (DAC) led by Dr Cassius Lubisi, is now dealing with the increase in visa applications,” the department said.
“The Minister is equally considering and approving waiver applications on a daily basis.”
Before granting a further extension, Motsoaledi took factors into consideration which include submissions received from affected Zimbabwean nations, relevant officials from Home Affairs, and other interested parties, the department said.
“Another Immigration Directive, extending the validity of Zimbabwean exemption permits for a further period of six months ending on December 31, 2023,” the department said.
“The minister’s Immigration directive no 2 of 2023, will be published in the ‘Extraordinary Government Gazette’ on Thursday, June 8.”
What does this mean for Zimbabwean nationals in SA now?
– No holder of the exemption may be arrested, ordered to depart, or be detained for purposes of deportation or deported in terms of the Immigration Act for any reason related to the holder not having any valid exemption certificate in their passport.
– The holder of the exemption may be allowed to enter or depart from South Africa, provided the holder complies with all the other requirements for entry into and departure from South Africa.
– No holder of the exemption should be required to produce a valid exemption certificate or an authorisation letter to remain in South Africa.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL