Huge relief for Zimbabweans living and working in SA under a temporary permit system that came into operation in 2009. From Moneyweb.
Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders can breathe a sigh of relief after Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza announced that they can now apply for permanent residence, in an apparent reversal of government policy.
One of the conditions of the ZEP and its predecessor programmes was that the permit holder could not apply for permanent residence in SA.
Nzuza told Newsroom Afrika: “The ZEP were special permits that were issued to Zimbabweans under certain conditions, and we have been making a call that all those that are in that particular exemption permit should be looking at other legal pathways in which they apply for permanent residence or any other form, because the exemption permit itself was meant to be a temporary arrangement.
“If they seek to stay within the country then they must apply for other forms of entrance into the country.”
ZEP holders can now apply for permanent residence, which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
One of the groups campaigning for the right of ZEP holders to apply for permanent residence is the ZEP Holders Association (Zepha), which has been involved in a long-running court case with the Department of Home Affairs on this issue.
It has asked the Johannesburg High Court to declare that ZEP holders should be allowed to apply for permanent residence on the grounds of their long-term residency in SA, contributions to the economy, family ties, and on humanitarian considerations.
Extensions
The ZEP permits have been extended multiple times, with the latest expiring on 28 May 2027.
This provides temporary relief and allows holders to apply for mainstream visas in some cases, but the underlying conditions of the ZEP have historically restricted direct permanent residence applications.
Home Affairs advised ZEP holders to apply for alternative visas so that it could wind down the ZEP programme but now appears to have reversed course.
Nzuza says there are ways for gaining entry to SA for economic migrants, including business visas.
Many migrants entered SA as asylum seekers running away from persecution in their home countries, but later used this to apply for permanent residence.
The ZEP system (and its predecessor programmes) was launched in 2009 as a temporary measure to accommodate an influx of Zimbabweans fleeing economic collapse, but has been extended several times as government seemed uncertain how to deal with the roughly 180 000 permit holders now resident and working in SA.
Many have children that have grown up in SA and do not have strong attachments to Zimbabwe.
“The comments by the deputy minister of Home Affairs, where he said that ZEP holders ought to be allowed to apply for permanent residence, are consistent with what I, under the instruction of Zepha, have called for over several years,” says Advocate Simba Chitando, who represents Zepha.
“There is simply no other lawful, and political, solution to the crisis besides allowing ZEP holders, who elect to do so, to apply for permanent residence in the country they have given all their productive lives, and where their children have grown up.
“It is obviously manifestly untenable, and unlawful, to frustrate their legal status at the behest of right wing hate groups that provide no benefit to the fiscus, and are both a political and economic liability to the country.”
“The comments by the deputy minister, although welcome, have yet to be reduced to writing,” he adds.
“Until then, I remain cautiously optimistic, but prepared to act in the interests of Zepha, should there be a reason to do so.”
Read: ZEP holders face uncertainty as some bank accounts are frozen
SA’s long-standing association with its neighbour to the north is vital to its future, adds Chitando, but the relationship has been jeopardised by xenophobic elements within SA.
Leadership overtures
Attempts appear to be underway to repair the frayed relationship between SA and Zimbabwe at various levels.
South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, who is touted as a potential leader of the ANC, was recently in Zimbabwe in his capacity as president of the Confederation of African Football, where he met with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In August 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Zimbabwe to open the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, and this was followed by an official visit by Deputy President Paul Mashatile in November.
Last month anti-immigration group Operation Dudula filed papers in the high court challenging Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber’s decision to extend the ZEP programme until May 2027. This case has yet to be heard.
