Shava met with International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor in Pretoria on Wednesday.

One of the topics was the scrapping of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit.

The permit, which has been providing legal protection to some 170 000 Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa, will be terminated by December. 

Those who want to stay will need to apply for a visa to remain in South Africa, based on a list of critical skills needed in the country.

“As for us in Zimbabwe, these are our nationals and those who fail to meet the requirements of South Africa are welcome back home,” said Shava.

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“We will be working on the modalities and logistics of receiving them when they come.” 

Shava said they expect all expat Zimbabweans to comply with the new regulations.

“There is nobody who is not in the know about this request. We don’t have figures yet as to how many responded to the request to South Africa, how many Zimbabweans responded, but the Zimbabweans are also aware of the time limit that is associated with the permits. 

"We expect them to have taken concrete steps to make sure that they will find themselves compliant with this permit.”