The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) has gone to court to oppose a bid by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to appeal against a ruling that he may not terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme.

The Foundation has filed papers in the Constitutional Court opposing an application by the Minister for leave to appeal against a Pretoria high court ruling which found his decision to be unlawful and unconstitutional. The Foundation says the unlawfulness of Motsoaledi’s decision to stop the ZEP had been determined on undisputed “common cause” facts which simply cannot be appealed.

The main premise for the high court ruling was that the Minister had not consulted with the affected 178,000 permit holders prior to making the decision. The Minister had also not personally deposed to an affidavit in the matter.

The high court set aside the decision to stop the ZEP and sent the matter back to the Minister to make a fresh decision, following a fair, consultative process. It refused an application by the Minister for leave to appeal and the Supreme Court of Appeal recently dismissed his appeal on the grounds that it had no prospects of success.

The Minister has now turned to the Constitutional Court. Director-General Livhuwani Tommy Makhode, in his affidavit, said the high court should have found that the Minister had consulted, albeit after the fact, and had justified the limitation of ZEP holders’ rights, including by submitting that conditions in Zimbabwe had improved.

He said the high court order effectively meant that the Minister could never terminate the programme.

But Naseema Fakir, the acting executive director of the Helen Suzman Foundation, said in her affidavit that the Foundation had not requested the high court to find that the Minister could never stop the programme.

She said because termination of the programme would have profound consequences, “in order to be valid, it must follow a fair and procedurally rational consultation process, be consistent with fundamental constitutional rights and be based on lawful, rational and reasonable grounds”.

She said the Minister’s “abrupt decision” to terminate the programme had placed in jeopardy the lives and rights of the 178,000 Zimbabweans and their children who had been living, working, and studying in South Africa since 2009.

The high court’s ruling was “persuasive and comprehensive”, she said.

“The court made findings that are entirely dispositive [settle/end it] of this application to leave to appeal. First, on the common cause facts, the Minister decided to terminate the programme without any prior consultation with ZEP holders, civil society or the wider public.

“Second, he inexplicably failed to depose to any affidavit in the proceedings, meaning there was no admissible evidence before the court that the minister had applied his mind to the staggering

impact that his decision would have on the rights of ZEP holders and the best interests of their children.

“The consequences of these two facts is that the decision was patently unlawful.

“Unless this court finds these common cause factual findings are wrong, the unlawfulness of the minister’s decision is undisputable.”

Fakir said in the high court the Foundation had described in detail the impact of the decision on ZEP holders and their children, who would be left undocumented due to the legal and practical barriers to securing alternative visas and permits.

The Foundation had put up supporting affidavits of ZEP holders and circulars issued by the department reflecting ongoing backlogs and delays in processing alternative visas and permits.

These facts had been met with bald denials and evasion from the Director-General who adopted a “slippery and entirely inconsistent stance”, she said.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Former Helen Suzman Foundation chief granted court order to halt cyberbully after ZEP challenges

It was not open to dispute that the Minister had not consulted prior to making the decision, she said.

After making the decision, the Minister and his lawyers had “told the world” that his decision was final and not open to change and that he regarded the Foundation’s review application as “creating false hope”.
Nitpicking

“The Minister’s nitpicking at parts of the full court’s judgment does not establish real grounds of appeal or any reasonable prospects of success,” Fakir said.

The Consortium For Refugees and Migrants In South Africa (Cormsa) has also filed papers opposing the Minister’s application for leave to appeal. The Consortium raises similar grounds, arguing that the high water mark of the Minister’s case was that it mattered not that he did not consult prior to making the decision, as long as an opportunity was given after the decision “in order to have it changed or modified”.

“Even if this is correct (which is denied), the Minister has explicitly stated that he was not willing to change or modify his decision. The decision was hence either unfair under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (Paja) or irrational under the Constitution. These are the conclusions reached by the high court and there is no reasonable prospect that any other court would come to a different conclusion,” executive director Thifulufheli Sinthumule said in his affidavit.

Also, the Minister had extended the ZEP programme until 29 November 2025 so he could not now argue that he was constrained by the High Court’s ruling, Sinthumule said. V.5249

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.

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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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