Zimbabwean Exemption Permits extended by another year
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits' validity to 28 November 2025.
The extension was gazetted on Friday, the same day as the deadline for Zimbabwean nationals to apply for a new one-year permit.
It follows a high court ruling ordering the government to consult ZEP holders and stakeholders about the permit's future.
The ruling came after the Helen Suzman Foundation successfully challenged the government's decision to terminate the ZEPs, which affected about 178,000 Zimbabweans who have lived and worked in SA for over a decade.
The extension means that no ZEP holder may be arrested, deported, or detained for not having a valid exemption certificate.
"The reactivation of the Immigration Advisory Board is currently underway, and its first task will be to consider, advise and enable the steps required for compliance with the order of the high court on the future of the ZEP," said Minister Schreiber
"In order to give the IAB time to properly do its work, and a fair process to be followed, I direct that existing ZEPs shall be deemed to remain valid for the next 12 months.
"The holder of an exemption certificate may be allowed to enter into or depart from the Republic of South Africa provided that he or she complies with all other requirements for entry into and departure from the Republic.
"No ZEP holder should be required to produce a valid exemption certificate, visa or an authorisation letter to remain in the Republic when making an application for any category of the visa for temporary sojourn.”
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