Exemption permit a temporary reprieve for Zimbabweans in SA

Zimbabweans whose seven-year special dispensation visas will run out in December‚ have been given a reprieve.

Many had feared they would have to return to Zimbabwe‚ leaving their jobs and homes behind.

On Friday‚ the South Africa government announced that Zimbabweans on special dispensation visas‚ which were issued in 2010 and expire in December‚ can apply for new visas called Zimbabwe Exemption Permits.

The special dispensation visa was introduced in 2010 allowed Zimbabweans working in South Africa to gain legal status here. Almost 200 000 people were granted three-year visas‚ which were extended for a further four years until the end of 2017.

Minister of Home Affairs Hlengiwe Mkhize announced today the new visa will cost R1 090 and last four years. The Zimbabweans need a valid passport and must prove they are studying‚ working or running a business.

Zimbabweans can apply for the exemption permits between September 15 and November 30 at Visa Facilitation Services offices. Mkhize said: "I trust that the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit will go a long way in assisting the Zimbabweans to rebuild their lives as they prepare‚ at work‚ in business and in educational institutions‚ for their final return to their sovereign state – Zimbabwe – in the near future."

The new visa still denies them permanent residency.

Many Zimbabweans came to South Africa in about 2004 and have been the country at least 12 years or more‚ said Immigration practitioner Leon Isaacson.

He believes these Zimbabweans should be able to apply for permanent residency in line with United Nations treaties.

"One cannot expect people to live in a place for 10 or 15 years and then have to uproot their lives."

He called the new visa a "temporary" solution‚ adding that it was possible to contest in court that Zimbabweans who had lived here for years were entitled to permanent residency.