• The Zimbabwean Immigration Federation is taking the Department of Home Affairs to court over the termination of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit.
• The organisation wants the department to start the review process for permits afresh.
• It says its members will face discrimination and reprisal if they go back to Zimbabwe.
The Department of Home Affairs is facing another lawsuit relating to the looming termination of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).
The ZEP is a special dispensation permit established more than 10 years ago that gives legal protection to an estimated 178 000 Zimbabwean nationals to live, work and study in South Africa.
However, the Cabinet decided in January that the arrangement must be terminated by December and that applicants should apply for a visa to remain in South Africa, based on a list of critical skills needed in the country.
In June, the Helen Suzman Foundation said it would be taking the government to court for discontinuing the permits. It said termination would turn ZEP holders in South Africa into undocumented migrants and force them to return to Zimbabwe if they did not meet the strict conditions of one of the visa categories on offer. The foundation said they would face similar conditions to what had led them to flee.
Now, another organisation â€` the Zimbabwean Immigration Federation (ZIF) â€` is also hauling the department to court.
In its papers, the organisation cited the Department of Home Affairs, President Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force, and the Border Management Authority.
The application, filed at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, was aimed at interdicting government departments from arresting or deporting ZEP holders once their permits expired at the end of the year.
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The organisation also wanted ZEP holders to be able to leave or enter the country legally if all their other travel documentation was in order.
In the second part of its application, the ZIF wanted home affairs to review the decision not to extend the ZEP. The organisation also wanted the department to restart the review process for permits and, in the meantime, allow ZEP holders to remain in the country.
It contended that the termination of the ZEP would `impose a severe administrative burden on the

Department of Home Affairs â€` who have not made reasonable steps to ensure they will be able to deal with the impending flood of applications by Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders that will be lodged under the Refugees Act`.
The Gukurahundi massacre and apartheid
In its court papers, the organisation further argued that members of the ZIF were victims of the Gukurahundi massacre who had been left homeless.
`They were asylum seekers in South Africa before the DZP [Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project] in 2009 and have since remained in South Africa as holders of permits issued under the subsequent ministerial exemption dispensation.`
Cabinet created the DZP in April 2009, which was later renamed the ZEP.
The organisation said they were also worried that members of the LGBTQI community would face discrimination in Zimbabwe.
`Sending asylum seekers and refugees back to Zimbabwe will expose them to persecution in stark violation of South African law and international law,` it argued in its court papers.
The ZIF said Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was allowed to withdraw the permits under the immigration law, provided there was a good cause. However, it said the minister had erred in his decision to end the permits because he `failed to take into account relevant considerations in making the impugned decision`.
The ZIF added:
The Minister`s approach to the withdrawal of the exemptions that had been granted to Zimbabwean nationals is reminiscent of the brutal international migration policy adopted by the Apartheid regime, which imposed blunt immigration controls and tight restrictions on Africans it considered undesirable, regardless of the severe harm caused to their human dignity and rights.
It argued that the decision to terminate the ZEP would also lead to families being torn apart as most ZIF members didn`t qualify for alternative visas under the critical skills category.
`Many Zimbabwean nationals who hold the ministerial exemptions permits have married South African nationals or have children who hold South African identification and travel documents. The minister`s decision accordingly threatens to break up families and displace many people if implemented.`
Permit holders were also likely to lose their businesses and property, the court papers stated.
Home affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the department`s lawyers had filed a motion to oppose the ZIF court action.
Qoza said the department was facing four court cases in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria regarding the ZEP.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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