IT`S just a year and half left before the Zimbabwe Special Permits
expire on 31st July 2017 and the conditions are clear.


The permits cannot be renewed and a ZSP holder cannot apply for a
Permanent Residence Permit notwithstanding the number of years one has
spent in South Africa.


Before we deal with what needs to be done, it`s important that we deal
with the historical background of the documentation project.


Historically, the people that used to come to South Africa are people
from Matabeleland though there were few Shona speaking who also
migrated to Mzansi to work and study.


Even the Zimbabwean first lady, Grace Mugabe stayed in Benoni up
until 1979 and we all know that she was born in SA in 1965.


Many ZIPRA cadres joined the Zimbabwe liberation struggle after been
inspired by the African National Congress and its military wing,
Umkonto Wesizwe (MK). They left their jobs in South Africa for Zambia.
In the 1970s , the apartheid regime recruited cheap labour from
Southern Rhodesia and in the rest of the Southern region. Those who
did not go back home, simply became "South Africans" by acquiring
citizenship.


After our independence in 1980, a number of ZAPU members who were
running away from Gukurahundi found themselves in South Africa and it
was easy for them to apply for South African IDs.


One would claim that, one was born in KwaZulu Natal. Because of the
similiarities in language (IsiNdebele and IsiZulu is the same) they
could in South African communities without any challenges.


This trend continued even after 1994; where the majority of people
from Matabeleland would simple apply for South African IDs, in most
cases adopting new names. For an example, Dumisani Sibanda who was
born in Tsholotsho , Zimbabwe, would apply for a South African ID and
be known as Bongani Zondi from Nongoma in KZN after perhaps bribing a
Home Affairs official. This was done mainly by those who could not
qualify to apply for work or business permits.


Then in 1995, the South African government granted an amnesty for
those from southern Africa who had fraudulent IDs and were granted
residency and subsequently citizenship.


Their new ID would clearly indicate that the person is South African
though born in Zimbabwe but some continued using the IDs that
identified them as South Africans by birth, even though one was born
in Zimbabwe.


The South African ID was the only legal document that those who did
not qualify

for permits could lay their hands on. This trend continued
up to 2008. The issuing of authentic IDs acquired fraudulently was a
brisk business, lots of money exchanged hands at the Department of
Home Affairs.


When the Movement for Democratic Change was formed in 1999, it became
a threat to the ruling ZANU (PF). This forced the ruling party to
resort into state sponsored violence against members of the MDC and
civil society. Many of these political victims had to skip the border
to South Africa and to other countries. Upon arrival in South Africa,
these political victims could not be granted political asylum by the
South African government until May 2002. The argument raised by the
South African government at the time was that, there was no war in
Zimbabwe. Victims of political violence kept on coming to South
Africa.


It was then in May 2002 that myself and the then MDC Secretary
General, now MDC President Prof Welshman Ncube and then MDC Chairman
in South Africa, Jabulani Mkwanazi met with the then Director General
of Home Affairs Billy Masetla who agreed to grant victims of
political violence asylum.


Initially anyone applying for asylum had to pass through the MDC
office and we had MDC organising department registering political
victims. This process was overseen by the late Charles Ndebele and the
late Ben Mutasa who were in charge of our organising department.


The numbers of asylum seekers kept growing and the MDC office could no
longer handle the influx in our offices. We had to turn to the Home
Affairs dept to ask it to allow people to make applications directly
to the department.


This then meant that, Zimbabweans who were not necessarily political
victims but economic migrants, turned to seeking asylum as it allowed
them to work , study, run a business and more importantly, it offered
protection from deportation.


Many people applied for the asylum, including those who had South
African IDs.


According to the UN chapter on refugees, an asylum seeker or a holder
of an asylum document cannot go back to their country of origin until
what one had ran away from had been resolved. This would then mean
giving up asylum but a number of asyleess from Zimbabwe would go back
home, in clear violation of the asylum seekers rules and regulations. V.1824

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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