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Zimbabwean expatriates are scrambling to apply for a visa to continue living in South Africa after their Zimbabwe Extension Permits (ZEP) expired in December.
If they are unsuccessful, in some cases, an entire generation of children will be forced to relocate with their parents to a country they may never even have visited.
However, according to Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza, the agent VFS Global has only received 2 301 visa applications and 3 014 waiver applications from the exemption holders.
A special team at the department is still working through these for final approval.
According to the records of the department, a total number of 178 412 Zimbabwean nationals were granted exemptions.
“It must however be noted that some of them did not renew their permits, and as such they lapsed. While others either migrated to other visas or left the country,” said Qoza.
In November 2021, the department announced that the ZEP would not be extended again, and all holders of this special permit had until 31 December 2021 to apply for a visa to stay in South Africa.
The ZEP cancellation and requirement to apply for a new visa aligns with the department’s review of all visas issued from as far back as 2004, but Zimbabweans are the only ones who have to reapply for a visa at the moment.
This appears to contradict the White Paper on International Migration, which painstakingly sets out the democratic South African government’s commitment to undo the apartheid-era’s preference for white immigrants, and restricting permits to black migrants who were contributing to the country’s cheap labour pool of mine and farm workers.
Zimbabwean nationals arrived in a larger group than usual in South Africa around 2008, during a period of hyperinflation, food shortages, empty government coffers, and severe political uncertainty back home. News24
