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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWEANS who hold the Dispensation for Zimbabweans Project (DZP) permits and hope to extend their stay in South Africa have until the end of this month to book appointments for their Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP) application to be processed, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Tuesday. Gigaba told reporters at a Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) Global centre in Johannesburg that the process of regularising the stay of thousands of Zimbabweans living, studying and working in the neighbouring country was moving smoothly.
He said there were shorter queues and a reduced likelihood of bribery and corruption than in 2010 during the DZP process.
The Zimbabwe Special Permit is given to Zimbabweans who hold the DZP permit and is valid until December 31, 2017. It allows them to remain in South Africa and apply for a visa relevant to the terms of their stay in the country.
Gigaba said the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) had so far handled a total of 206,939 applicants under the Zimbabwean Special Permits, while 2,028 applicants were yet to book appointments with VFS.
“Regarding the breakdown of applications, we wish to announce that as of March 13, 2015, a total of 208,967 applications were submitted online, to VFS. A total of 206,939 applicants booked appointments with VFS for interviews and 2,028 applicants have not booked appointments with VFS. They have until March 31, 2015 to do so, which is the closing date,” said Gigaba during the media briefing, which was convened to present an update on the Zimbabwean Special Permit application process, which opened on October 1, 2014.
“A total of 162,256 applications have been done at VFS and 50 percent of these have been adjudicated by the DHA. We have adjudicated 83,009 applications to be exact. It is anticipated that the adjudication and the handing out of outcomes would be finalised by the end of August 2015.”
The minister said some of the DZP holders who did not apply for ZSP permits might have already secured visas or left the country. He added that the partnership that DHA established with VFS resulted in tremendous efficiency and better service for Zimbabweans.
“It was supported in large measure by the 10 ZSP centres VFS Global established to facilitate ZSP permit applications. We therefore thank VFS Global for the sterling work it had done in this regard, as well as our officials in the permitting section,” he said.
“The ZSP will allow permit-holders to live, work, conduct business, study and financially transact in South Africa for the duration of the permit.”
Gigaba said the DHA had also met with SABRIC (South African Banking Risk Information Centre) to ensure issues around the accounts of applicants are resolved.
“We had allowed eligible Zimbabwean nationals in possession of the old DZP permits to be in the country and to travel between our two countries, without being declared undesirable or arrested for being illegal, until their application process had been finalised, and had been issued with their new ZSP permits,” the minister went on.
The requirements for the new ZSP included: a valid Zimbabwean passport, proof of employment or proof of business registration, proof of registration from a learning institution and a DZP reference number that had to be used for lodging the ZSP application online.
Bongani Ndlovu