Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
The South African Government is expanding options for Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders to transition to mainstream permits to regularise their stay in that country.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza announced on Monday that migrants with ZEPs may apply for permanent residency, as the permit was initially a temporary arrangement.
The ZEP, introduced in 2009, allowed thousands of eligible Zimbabweans to reside and work in South Africa.
With the permit’s expiration usually after every three years and continuous renewal, holders are exploring alternative visa options.
The Deputy Minister emphasised that applying for permanent residency is a viable path, especially for those who have established careers and lives in South Africa.
“The ZEP was a special permit issued to Zimbabweans under certain conditions and we have been renewing it over time,” said the Deputy Minister.
“And even right now, we have been calling on those holders of that permit to look at other legal pathways in which they may apply for permanent residence or any other form of permit, because the exemption permit itself was meant to be a temporary arrangement.
“But rather, if they seek to stay in the country, they must apply for other forms of entry into the country, including applying for permanent residence and other permits.”
He continued: “All those applications will be looked at on merit; it’s not going to be a blanket approach where you say all ZEP holders are now permanent residents. Each and every person should apply and then we determine if they qualify.”
The Deputy Minister said, with respect to economic migrants, they could apply for relevant business permits rather than pretending to be asylum seekers and trying to get permanent residence permits at a later stage.
The development comes a few months after South Africa’s Ministry of Home Affairs further extended the lifeline of the ZEP permits to May 28, 2027.
Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber made the announcement via Government Gazette No. 53484, where, under the new arrangements, which fall under Ministerial Immigration Directive No. 21 of 2025, the validity of the permits has been extended to May 28, 2027.
At the time, the Minister said the permits had been extended in terms of South Africa’s Immigration Act, Section 31(2)(b).
