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Zimbabweans living under the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs) say the South African government is blocking them from applying for permanent residence, leaving them uncertain and distressed. Their representative body, the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Holders Association (ZEPHA), gave the blame to South Africa's Department of Home Affairs (DHA), saying it was deliberately preventing ZEP holders from securing permanent residency, despite their long-standing contributions to the country's economy through work and taxes, as permitted under the Immigration Act.
- Traffic authorities refusing to renew driving licenses and conducting targeted roadblocks to catch Zimbabweans without valid permits. - Increased police raids in communities with high concentrations of Zimbabweans. - Banks freezing or putting on hold ZEP holders' accounts, citing expired permits. - Employers terminating contracts of Zimbabwean workers due to pressure from authorities. - Denied access to Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and pension benefits for dismissed Zimbabwean employees. - Children of ZEP holders being barred from writing exams due to lack of study visas. - Zimbabweans, including pregnant women, being refused medical treatment at hospitals. In 2023, the Gauteng High Court ruled that DHA's decision to end the ZEP program was unlawful and unconstitutional, ordering the government to engage with the affected community. Despite this ruling and an extension of the ZEP program until the end of 2025, ZEPHA argues that many permit holders are unable to apply for permanent residence due to bureaucratic delays. Applicants must secure appointments with visa processing company VFS, but many have been waiting for months without success, raising fears that applications will not be processed before the deadline. ZEPHA contends that the hostile environment has left Zimbabweans in South Africa unable to reach their full potential. The association has appealed to the Zimbabwean government to expedite a voluntary return program, emphasizing that mass diaspora returns have historically contributed to economic growth, skills transfer, and national development. Originally designed to regularize the stay of Zimbabweans fleeing economic and political crises, the ZEP system now leaves approximately 178,000 permit holders and their families in legal limbo. While the South African government has repeatedly extended the permit deadlines, it has simultaneously signaled an eventual termination of the program. The ZEPHA memo, seen by MoneyWeb, paints a grim picture of the struggles faced by Zimbabweans in South Africa:"Zimbabweans are now forced to litigate when they go to hospitals, schools, universities, travel on the roads, and at the workplace." In response, ZEPHA has already launched a repatriation initiative to assist those willing to return home. However, it is calling for Zimbabwe's government to provide support in easing the transition, including help with accommodation, business opportunities, and reducing bureaucratic obstacles for returnees. The memo further highlights deep-seated prejudices against Zimbabweans in South Africa. While many South Africans acknowledge Zimbabweans as hardworking employees, their support rarely extends to granting them full legal protections. The memo states: "Many South Africans believe that Zimbabweans are hapless ZANU-PF victims useful only for their cheap, efficient, and trustworthy labor. Their assistance extends only to prolonging exploitation, but not to granting Zimbabweans the rights needed for dignified lives." Growing resentment has also fueled xenophobic violence. Zimbabweans are frequently blamed for job shortages, housing crises, and strained public services. This has led to the rise of vigilante groups that target Zimbabweans with robbery, assault, and even murder—often without consequences for the perpetrators. Political parties such as the Patriotic Alliance and ActionSA have been accused of fueling anti-Zimbabwean sentiment, while groups like Operation Dudula and Put South Africa First have actively led campaigns against Zimbabwean migrants. Such hostility tends to escalate during elections and times of national crisis, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing power shortages. On the other hand, South Africa's white minority largely attributes Zimbabwe's economic collapse to ZANU-PF's governance failures. The memo asserts: "The white minority blames ZANU-PF for ruining Zimbabwe's economy, forcing its citizens to flee to South Africa to escape poverty, political persecution, and maladministration. The mainstream media, which they control, have successfully sold the South African population the idea that Zimbabwe is a failed state that will never recover without them." ZEPHA argues that the ongoing abuse of Zimbabweans in South Africa has caused severe psychological and emotional distress within the community. Many now live in constant fear of deportation, violence, and systemic discrimination. Without intervention, the association warns, the situation will only deteriorate further. |
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Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber says that "severe IT constraints" prevent his department from issuing smart ID cards to naturalised citizens and permanent residents. This is holding back the project to declare South Africa's old and insecure green ID books invalid, as Home Affairs can't invalidate the venerable ID book until everyone can obtain a replacement smart ID card. Besides the cost of operating two different ID printing systems, South Africa wants to eliminate the green ID book because it has become an immense source of ID fraud. Smile ID's 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa report revealed that fraud rates for South Africa's green ID book were 500% higher than for smart IDs. The firm said the green ID book is historically vulnerable due to weak security features. Last year, Smile ID's 2024 Digital Identity Fraud report showed that the green ID book was the most targeted in Africa for fraud, including using stolen identities to open bank accounts and apply for welfare. Smile ID said fraudsters regularly targeted national IDs because they were the most common form of government identification and mandatory for most adults. In a recent written Parliamentary question, ACDP MP Wayne Thring asked Schreiber why naturalised citizens were currently ineligible for smart IDs, and what was being done about it. "Home Affairs is acutely aware of, and regrets, the insecurity and distress this issue is causing," Schreiber stated. "Since assuming office, I have directed that work be sped up to enable all qualifying persons to obtain the more secure smart ID cards," he continued. "However, severe IT constraints have emerged as a major obstacle in this regard, and urgent work is ongoing to resolve the challenges." Schreiber said failures by their current IT service provider is holding back Home Affairs' ability to deliver the required changes to allow naturalised citizens and permanent residents to obtain smart IDs. "This is being addressed with the necessary urgency," he assured. "While work is being done to expand access to all through IT system changes, the department does assist naturalised citizens with smart ID cards through invitations to prospective applicants," Schreiber explained. "However, the process entails a manual verification process that limits access. The issue is receiving top priority." The SITA problem Although Schreiber did not name the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) in his latest Parliamentary response, the minister has not minced words in his past criticism of the state-owned company. During his speech responding to President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address, Schreiber said that SITA's monopoly was suffocating technological innovation. "We welcome the president's embrace of digital transformation in his State of the Nation Address, but this must include urgent regulatory reform to the monopoly held by SITA," he said. This came after Schreiber previously described SITA as an "artificial construct that stands squarely in the way of technological progress". "The model of imposing a state monopoly over digital technologies is simply not fit for purpose in the digital age," he said. Schreiber also said criticising and blaming Home Affairs for IT failures was unfair. "Even as we move with urgency to reform technological aspects under our control, our efforts will fall short for as long as we cannot maintain, procure and properly manage our own IT infrastructure," he said. Schreiber's predecessor, Aaron Motsoaledi, had a similar run-in with SITA over issues at Home Affairs sites in 2022. SITA hit back at Schreiber's criticism with the same explanation it gave in response to Motsoaledi's years ago. It says Home Affairs experiences system downtime because it chose the cheapest packages with the lowest service level agreements. However, Home Affairs said it couldn't afford SITA's more expensive gold- or platinum-level support packages. Home Affairs digital revolution While Home Affairs is working to address its IT problems, Schreiber said he would also dramatically expand the eHomeAffairs programme this year. eHomeAffairs is the department's partnership with banks that allows citizens to apply for and collect their smart IDs and passports from participating bank branches. Schreiber explained that the partnership has been limited to around 30 bank branches around the country for almost a decade. "This must become hundreds if not thousands of bank branches. I want every village, town, city, and suburb in South Africa to have access to Home Affairs services in a local bank branch," said Schreiber. "I believe this will reduce the pressure on our offices and alleviate the long queues. Not to mention greatly expanding our footprint." Schreiber said another goal for 2025 is for documents to introduce a delivery option for documents. "It is already accepted practice that if you order a new bank card, it gets delivered to your home or office for a fee," he said. In addition to making Home Affairs' services more convenient to access, Schreiber said he wanted to use technology to further combat fraud and identity theft. Schreiber said any process that allows or requires human intervention opens the door for fraud. "It is only possible for someone to steal an ID number or engage in fraudulent activity like swopping out photos because the system has gaps that allow for human intervention," he previously told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. "Until such time as Home Affairs has been transformed into a digital-first department, these abuses will keep happening." He also said that digitally transforming Home Affairs has been accompanied by cracking down on individuals perpetrating fraud in the department. Schreiber said there had been dozens of disciplinary cases and arrests in the past year, ensuring that people there are consequences for defrauding the system. "Instances like these - and potentially much worse - will keep happening for as long as Home Affairs processes are manual, paper-based, and vulnerable to human discretion," he said. |
| Mpumalanga police in Carolina arrested four male suspects, aged
between 35 and 51, for allegedly impersonating Home Affairs officials as well
as for staging a common robbery. The suspects were nabbed on Monday, February 3, 2025. Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane said a foreign national businessman contacted police complaining about four men who arrived at his shop and produced identification cards claiming that they were Home Affairs officials. "It is further reported that these men were conducting a so-called operation, checking for expired goods. It was during this time that when these men reportedly forced the businessman to pay R5,000 to evade being charged." Ndubane said after the report, police began searching for four men around Carolina and they eventually cornered the suspects in one of the shops, allegedly conducting similar fraudulent activities. "Upon investigation, it was realised that these men were not genuine Home Affairs officials, and this warranted their immediate arrest hence they were apprehended as well as charged accordingly. During their arrest, an amount of R5,000 was found in their possession and the cash was confiscated and it will form part of the police investigation," Ndubane added. Ndubane said police also searched a car that was allegedly used by the suspects during the commission of crime and inside the car, police found number plates, a camera, as well as identification cards. "Police investigators are working in collaboration with officials from the Department of Home Affairs to ascertain the status and nationalities of the arrested suspects." The suspects are expected to appear at the Carolina Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. |
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Leon Schreiber addressed what he perceived as an underlying political motive. Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has accused Julius Malema of hiding behind him after the EFF leader's "hateful and violent rhetoric" directed at certain segments of South African society. The accusation came in Schreiber's parliamentary response to a question from EFF MP Thapelo Mogale regarding the citizenship status of several high-profile individuals, including tech billionaire Elon Musk. Musk was born in the South Africa but moved to North America in the late 1980s. EFF citizenship status question to Schreiber Mogale asked whether Elon Musk, Deon Barnard, Peter Andreas Thiel, and David Oliver Sacks hold South African citizenship. He further inquired if the minister would consider revoking their citizenship under section 8(2)(b) of the South African Citizenship Act, given their alleged connections to U.S. President Donald Trump, their funding of his presidential campaign, and their supposed contribution to diplomatic tensions between South Africa and the United States. In his response, Schreiber explained that such information falls under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia). "As part of such request, the Department requires the provision of the full personal particulars, including the identity number, alternatively the date of birth, of the person in question, in order to determine the citizen status of any individual holding South African citizenship or granted citizenship through the naturalisation process," Schreiber stated. Schreiber alleges political motivation The minister then directly addressed what he perceived as the underlying political motivation behind Mogale's question. "As I have indicated in response to similar previous requests, the Department of Home Affairs will not weaponise the law to pursue political ends. Instead of being based on politics, our decisions are informed by the requirements of the Constitution, the rule of law, rationality, and just administrative action," Schreiber declared. He went further, suggesting that the question was prompted by concerns over potential repercussions facing Malema. "It furthermore appears that the Honourable Member was motivated to submit this particular question out of fear for the repercussions that his party leader may soon face for the years of hateful and violent rhetoric he has directed at certain segments of our society." Schreiber advised that rather than "seeking to cower behind the Minister of Home Affairs in an ill-fated attempt to escape from the possible consequences of his actions," Malema should "apologise for his inflammatory and divisive rhetoric, and to meaningfully commit to a programme of restitution and nation building." Ongoing Musk-Malema feud While not explicitly confirmed in Schreiber's response, his comments appear to reference the ongoing public feud between Musk and Malema. The tech billionaire recently called for Malema to be declared an international criminal and has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that a genocide is occurring in South Africa. Musk previously alleged that Malema was "calling for the genocide of the four million whites living in South Africa" and would likely become the country's leader "in a few months." In 2023, Musk criticised Malema for chanting "kill the Boer" during the EFF's 10th birthday celebration. The Tesla CEO has been an outspoken critic of South African politics, particularly expressing outrage over the recently-signed Expropriation Act. Malema's response In response to Musk's criticisms, Malema has remained defiant. During their recent exchange, the EFF leader stated he was not intimidated by calls for sanctions against him. "I really think you have entirely lost your left brain: a typical spoiled brat and direct beneficiary of Apartheid whiteness," Malema responded to Musk. "I don't care about your sanctions; I will never stop fighting for black people to be equal to white people, and if that makes me an international criminal, I am proud to be one," he added. |
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Students looking to study abroad in 2025 are facing a changing landscape as major destinations like the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany introduce new visa and work permit rules. While these countries remain top choices for Indian students, tighter regulations on study permits, post-graduation work opportunities, and financial requirements are influencing decision-making. Country-wise visa and work policy changes Canada: Stricter study permit rules, but more work hours - Canada is reducing the number of study permits issued in 2025. - The Student Direct Stream (SDS), a fast-track visa processing system, has been discontinued. - Post-study work visa now requires language proficiency tests. - Work hour limit increased from 20 to 24 hours per week. UK: Decline in Indian student enrollments amid visa restrictions - A 23% drop in Indian student enrollments due to dependent visa restrictions. - Tuition fees increased by £285, now at £9,535. - The Graduate Route visa remains, allowing two years of post-study work (three years for PhD graduates). Australia: Tougher financial and language requirements Country-wise visa and work policy changes Canada: Stricter study permit rules, but more work hours - Canada is reducing the number of study permits issued in 2025. - The Student Direct Stream (SDS), a fast-track visa processing system, has been discontinued. - Post-study work visa now requires language proficiency tests. - Work hour limit increased from 20 to 24 hours per week. UK: Decline in Indian student enrollments amid visa restrictions - A 23% drop in Indian student enrollments due to dependent visa restrictions. - Tuition fees increased by £285, now at £9,535. - The Graduate Route visa remains, allowing two years of post-study work (three years for PhD graduates). Australia: Tougher financial and language requirements - Proposal to cap international student intake at 270,000 remains under discussion. - New financial proof requirement: A$29,710. - Higher English language proficiency standards introduced. - Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) still offers up to six years of work rights for graduates. US: Record number of Indian students, but policy uncertainty looms - 337,630 Indian students in the US in 2024-the largest international student group for the first time. - 18% rise in Indian postgraduate enrollments, now at 196,000. - Concerns over potential restrictions on Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B visas under a possible Trump administration. - Trump’s proposal for automatic green cards for top graduates, if implemented, could significantly impact international student choices. Impact on post-study work opportunities Country-wise visa and work policy changes Canada: Stricter study permit rules, but more work hours - Canada is reducing the number of study permits issued in 2025. - The Student Direct Stream (SDS), a fast-track visa processing system, has been discontinued. - Post-study work visa now requires language proficiency tests. - Work hour limit increased from 20 to 24 hours per week. UK: Decline in Indian student enrollments amid visa restrictions - A 23% drop in Indian student enrollments due to dependent visa restrictions. - Tuition fees increased by £285, now at £9,535. - The Graduate Route visa remains, allowing two years of post-study work (three years for PhD graduates). Australia: Tougher financial and language requirements - Proposal to cap international student intake at 270,000 remains under discussion. - New financial proof requirement: A$29,710. - Higher English language proficiency standards introduced. - Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) still offers up to six years of work rights for graduates. US: Record number of Indian students, but policy uncertainty looms - 337,630 Indian students in the US in 2024-the largest international student group for the first time. - 18% rise in Indian postgraduate enrollments, now at 196,000. - Concerns over potential restrictions on Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B visas under a possible Trump administration. - Trump’s proposal for automatic green cards for top graduates, if implemented, could significantly impact international student choices. Impact on post-study work opportunities - US: OPT remains a major draw (12 months for general graduates, 36 months for STEM graduates). - UK: Graduate Route allows two years of work without employer sponsorship. - Canada: Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) offers up to three years of work; stricter language requirements introduced. - Australia: Subclass 485 visa provides up to six years of post-study work, with special benefits for Indian students under the India- Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). |
