Although South Africa extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) deadline for another year, to November 2025, providing a temporary reprieve to thousands of Zimbabweans, the announcement has left many confused and uncertain about their future.
The permits which had been due to expire at the end of November 2024, allowed holders to live, work and study in South Africa without the need to apply for standard work permits.
This extension means ZEP holders will now be able to remain in the country until November 2025, buying them more time to adjust to new migration regulations.
However, Spokesperson for the Zimbabwean Community in South Africa, Bongani Mkhwananzi, expressed concern about the continued ambiguity surrounding the process and its implications for Zimbabweans in the country.
“A lot of people have been calling us. There’s a lot of confusion because we had previously advised them to apply for waivers to migrate to mainstream general work visas. Now, with this announcement, people don’t know whether they should still proceed with that application or if there’s going to be a new solution,” Mkhwananzi said.
He explained the sudden reversal of course by the Minister has left many individuals unsure about their next steps.
“While the extension gives people 12 more months, that’s still a very short period. In the very near future, they may find themselves sitting here with me, still discussing the same issues. There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
Mkhwananzi highlighted the Home Affairs’ pronouncement needed to be supported by an immigration board yet to be constituted.
“The minister is complying to that court ruling to give time, but in his submission, he says he’s still putting up the immigration board, which has to sit and deliberate. Immediately, when the immigration board is fully constituted, their first task would be to deal with this Zimbabwe exemption issue,” he said.
“People are now no longer too sure. A lot of people who applied for waivers are asking what happens to those waivers? Should they now migrate still via the waiver method or there’s going to be a favourable announcement? What is going to happen? It leaves a lot of uncertainty for a lot of them.”
The one year extension comes after a protracted legal and political battle over the status of Zimbabweans in South Africa.
Previous Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, had announced the cancellation of the ZEPs in 2021, arguing it was time for Zimbabweans to transition to mainstream immigration channels.
This decision sparked legal challenges, with many questioning the fairness and practicality of requiring Zimbabweans to navigate an often complicated migration system.
In response to the court challenges, the current Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber along with the Department of Home Affairs, extended the permits to comply with a court ruling and give Zimbabweans more time to regularise their status.
The High Court had previously ruled the decision to terminate the permits was unlawful while South Africa’s government’s appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected.
For Mkhwananzi, the latest decision feels like a temporary solution to a much larger issue,explaining that while the extension will allow Zimbabweans to stay in the country for another year, it does not address the deeper challenges they face.
“We’re talking of people who have been here for a very long time, more than 15, 20, 30 years for some. So they love it. This is home for them in that case. You can imagine if someone is now maybe in their 45s, 50s, or even late 30s to go back to Zimbabwe, even if the economy was good and start a new life there, it would be a much more difficult situation,” he said.
The extension, however, does not offer a permanent resolution. Zimbabweans will need to migrate to permanent legal status, either by applying for work visas or other forms of residence. However, according to Mkhwananzi, the process of migration to permanent status remains unclear and fraught with challenges.
“We actually end up dealing with a lot of people facing issues. Even now, as people were applying for waivers, we found that VFS Global (which handles visa applications) has not allocated dates. People applied for their waivers and the results are mixed up,” he explained.
“A concoction of letters where someone was working as a waiter, but now they’ve been given a letter as a nurse. So there’s been a lot of issues that Zimbabweans are facing.”
The uncertainty around the ZEP extension also extends to people’s employment, as Mkhwananzi highlighted some companies are now reducing permanent contracts to temporary ones, fearing that employees might not be able to provide valid permits.
“Because remember, even when there were some extensions or the announcement of an application for exemption, there were no stickers put on these passports. So one would be going around with an expired sticker. Some people, maybe out of ignorance or just plain malice, would actually insist ‘your passport is expired or your permit is expired.’ We have situations where people’s bank accounts have been closed,” he said.
For many Zimbabweans, the extension means they can stay employed for another year, but it also underscores the precariousness of their situation.
“Most people would have wanted to go home for holidays to see their families, but that is as much as they get. But in a way, it also helps them be extended at work…,” Mkhwananzi said.
“But now you realise some of these people would have been on permanent contracts, which some companies are reducing to temporary contracts.And now they’re being given a year. So there are a lot of complexities around this.”
A key element of the extension is that no ZEP holder can be arrested, detained or deported based solely on the expiration of their permits until November 2025.
Mkhwananzi confirmed that while this offers some level of protection, it does not completely shield Zimbabweans from scrutiny by authorities.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t be stopped and questioned about your status,” he explained. “Authorities are still authorised to inquire about your legal status, but if you present your ZEP, they should let you go, given the announcement by the Minister.”
Despite the minister’s assurances, the extended deadline provides little comfort for Zimbabweans who have been living in a state of limbo for years.
Mkhwananzi pointed out while the government is giving them time to comply with migration laws, those who do not, may be “actually be rendered illegal” coupled by the situation back in Zimbabwe.
“We have seen the situation that brought many Zimbabweans to South Africa in the first place has not improved,” he said.
“So now for them to up and go, while it is easy to just say that there’s a lot of dynamics, which would make it very difficult for them to actually make a living in Zimbabwe now. You will then find people trying to do back doors and stay in the country illegally. Not that we encourage that, but that is the reality that we are likely to face.”
