Zuko Komisa
- Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders may now apply for permanent residency, overturning a long-standing ban on such applications.
- While current permits are valid until 28 May 2027, this move offers a more stable, long-term legal status.
- The shift aims to manage the 180,000 permit holders by transitioning them into mainstream immigration frameworks.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza has confirmed that Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders are now eligible to apply for permanent residence in South Africa.
This marks a significant departure from the original terms of the ZEP and its predecessors, which explicitly prohibited holders from seeking permanent status regardless of their length of stay.
Historically, the Department of Home Affairs encouraged ZEP holders to move onto alternative mainstream visas to facilitate the eventual phasing out of the programme.
However, the government has struggled to resolve the status of the approximately 180,000 Zimbabweans who have lived and worked in the country since the initiative’s inception in 2009.
The ZEP system was originally established as a temporary measure to manage the massive influx of Zimbabweans escaping economic instability.
Over the last 15 years, the programme has seen multiple extensions due to the complexities of repatriating or regularising such a large population.
Beyond the ZEP, the government highlighted that other avenues for legal entry remain available, such as business visas for economic migrants.
This latest policy change provides a clearer legal trajectory for those who initially entered as asylum seekers or temporary workers, offering a permanent solution to a decade-long period of administrative uncertainty.
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