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Home Affairs legalises Zimbabweans living, working and studying in SA

Source: Times Live, 15/11/2018

The Zimbabwean Special Permits will be replaced by the Zimbabwean
Exemption Permit.
Image: GroundUp
Over 180,000 Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa have applied
for official documentation to allow them to stay, work, study and
conduct businesses legally in the country, the department of home
affairs said on Thursday.
â€œThe Department of Home Affairs is pleased to announce that it has
completed the adjudication and printing of 178,172 applications for
the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP),â€ said spokesman Thabo Makgola.
The opening of applications for the ZEP was announced in September
2017 following the expiry of the Zimbabwean Special Permit (ZSP).
â€œThe ZEP is meant to regularise the stay of Zimbabwean nationals in
South Africa for work, study or legal business,â€ said Makgola.
Of the 180,000 applications, 108,485 permits were processed and had
been collected, said Makgola.
Meanwhile, 39,089 were in the process of being collected or sent to
the various collection offices, he added.
The department has urged 1,932 applicants who had expired passports to
contact the Zimbabwean consulate, as their application could not be
processed.
While this may be a relief for many, it still denies Zimbabweans
permanent residency in South Africa.
The department said it had met with the Zimbabwean Consulate which had
undertaken to expedite the passport applications of those who did apply.
The ZEP came into effect in January 2018, and it will expire in
December 2021.

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