Tag: Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP)

On 28 June 2023, the High Court handed down a landmark judgment where the decision by the Minister of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) not to extend the longstanding Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) after 31 December 2021 was found to be invalid, unlawful, and unconstitutional.

The now well-known Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) has a longstanding history since it was initially implemented by the Republic of South Africa as the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) in 2009. The objectives of the DZP were to provide Zimbabwean nationals who were in possession of fraudulently obtained immigration documents with amnesty, and to curb their deportation.

For the many Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa – and their employers – the upcoming expiry date for the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP), has been a cause for major concern. The ZEP was initially established to allow Zimbabweans in South Africa, legal and illegally living and working here, to come forward and regularise their stay – without the need to apply for regular visas.

On 29 November 2021, a directive was issued by the Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) confirming cabinet's decision that, no further extensions would be granted to Zimbabwean nationals, who were holders of a Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).