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Lesotho special permit on track - Gigaba

Source: News24, 25/11/2015

Cape Town – South Africa will grant a moratorium on deporting Lesotho
nationals until December 2016.

This is to facilitate the smooth implementation of the Lesotho special
permit dispensation, which was approved by Cabinet in October.

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Wednesday that February
2016 was the targeted date for the official start of the Lesotho
special permit programme, when they expected to start receiving
applications.

Once in place, the special permit will be valid for four years, from
May 2016, until April 2020.

Gigaba said the moratorium on deportations for Lesotho nationals would
exclude people with negative police clearances and those who had been
released from prison after serving their sentences.

Applicants must also not have a criminal record. Lesotho nationals who
voluntarily surrendered their fraudulent permits or SA passports and
IDs would be granted amnesty.

"To be noted is that the special dispensation does not grant the
holder the right to apply for permanent residence."

Gigaba said the Lesotho special permit would advance the goals of the
National Development Plan.

"It makes no business sense also to sustain funding for deportations
that can clearly be avoided, with Lesotho being among the four highest
countries whose nationals South Africa deports."

On Zimbabwe special permits, Gigaba said they had had around 208 967
online applications, with 160 still under review due to technical
issues.

197 790 Zimbabwe special permits had been approved and 25 rejected.
Gigaba said visa facilitation centres had closed down all of its
Zimbabwe special permits and they would continue issuing uncollected
permits until January 2016.

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