Home affairs minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has extended the validity of Zimbabwean exemption permits until June 30 next year.
The permits, granted to Zimbabweans who moved to SA before 2009, were set to expire at the end of this year.
These permits were meant to regularise the Zimbabweans’ presence and allow them access to services such as banking.
On Friday evening, the department said it had appointed a departmental advisory committee to assess the visa applications lodged by affected Zimbabwean nationals.
Motsoaledi said he had received a report from the committee recommending he consider extending the deadline for affected Zimbabwean nationals to apply for visas or waivers by a further six months.
“The minister has carefully considered the request and decided to extend the period by a further six months, that is December 31 2022 to June 30 2023. Another factor considered by the minister is that few Zimbabwean nationals have thus far applied for visas and/or waivers,” the department said.
In papers before the Pretoria high court last month, the department said only 6,000 of the 178,000 permit holders had responded to Motsoaledi’s calls last year to state their case before the dispensation lapses. The department was responding to an application by the Helen Suzman Foundation, which has taken the government to court over its decision not to extend the exemption permit.
The department on Friday called on affected Zimbabwean nationals to make use of this extension and not wait for the last moment to lodge their applications as no further extensions will be granted.
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Deadline for Zim exemption permits extended until June 30 as few have applied
Image: 123RF/Natanael Alfredo Nemanita Ginting
Home affairs minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has extended the validity of Zimbabwean exemption permits until June 30 next year.
The permits, granted to Zimbabweans who moved to SA before 2009, were set to expire at the end of this year.
These permits were meant to regularise the Zimbabweans’ presence and allow them access to services such as banking.
On Friday evening, the department said it had appointed a departmental advisory committee to assess the visa applications lodged by affected Zimbabwean nationals.
Motsoaledi said he had received a report from the committee recommending he consider extending the deadline for affected Zimbabwean nationals to apply for visas or waivers by a further six months.
“The minister has carefully considered the request and decided to extend the period by a further six months, that is December 31 2022 to June 30 2023. Another factor considered by the minister is that few Zimbabwean nationals have thus far applied for visas and/or waivers,” the department said.
In papers before the Pretoria high court last month, the department said only 6,000 of the 178,000 permit holders had responded to Motsoaledi’s calls last year to state their case before the dispensation lapses. The department was responding to an application by the Helen Suzman Foundation, which has taken the government to court over its decision not to extend the exemption permit.
The department on Friday called on affected Zimbabwean nationals to make use of this extension and not wait for the last moment to lodge their applications as no further extensions will be granted.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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