Zimbabweans living in South Africa might not be able to travel home for the holidays

Mail & Guardian - 10 Dec 2021

Every year, at around this time, many of the hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who live in South Africa make their way back home. Over the holiday period, families and friends reunite, and the country’s struggling economy gets a desperately needed influx of foreign currency.

Not this year, though. In a shock announcement, Zimbabwe’s government has effectively closed the border to ordinary travellers. According to spokesperson Nick Mangwana, anyone coming into Zimbabwe must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days — at their own expense. This emergency measure is designed to prevent the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, he said.

It has thrown holiday plans into chaos, because few people can afford the time or the money to quarantine.

This is the second dose of bad news for Zimbabweans living in South Africa in a matter of weeks. Last month, South Africa’s government announced that it would not renew the Zimbabwean special permit at the end of this year. The permit was introduced in 2010 to legalise an influx of refugees — overwhelmingly ordinary people fleeing economic hardship and political persecution — and has allowed more than 200 000 Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa.

Now, in what has been widely criticised as a populist decision, South Africa says they must go back to where they came from — and given them a grace period until the end of 2022 to do so.

This decision is likely to be challenged in court. “It’s impossible for anyone to do anything to migrate to a [different] permit in that time. It’s impractical,” advocate Simba Chitando told CapeTalk radio station.

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Important news on the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit

The South African - 10 December 2021

Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa with Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) should note an important 0development regarding ZEPs.

Zimbabwean Exemption Permit. AdobeStock

The South African Government will no longer issue extensions to Zimbabwean citizens holding Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP). The South African Government announced the decision on the ZEPs at the end of November 2021.

All ZEPs will expire on 31 December 2021.

GRACE PERIOD FOR ZEP HOLDERS

The good news is that the SA Government will grant a grace period of twelve months to all ZEP holders following the expiry of these permits on 31 December 2021.

ZEP holders thus have twelve months to regularise their stay in South Africa. ZEP holders can regularise their stay by finding alternative means to stay in South Africa legally by December 2022.

ZEP holders who cannot find alternative ways to stay legally in South Africa by December 2022 will have to leave South Africa or face deportation.

RULES FOR ORGANISATIONS DEALING WITH ZIMBABWEAN EXEMPTION PERMIT HOLDERS

Companies, employers, learning institutions and banks must allow ZEP holders to continue their services.

However, ZEP holders must provide proof of application for a mainstream South African visa to such organisations. They must also submit a VFS receipt with their proof of application for a mainstream SA visa.

TRAVELLING IN AND OUT OF SOUTH AFRICA AS A ZEP HOLDER

Zimbabwean nationals with a Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) can travel freely in and out of South Africa until 31 December 2022. However, when the grace period ends 31 December 2022, they will only be allowed to travel in and out of South Africa with a valid SA visa.

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ASYLUM SEEKERS PERMIT EXPIRED during LOCKDOWN – Don’t know what to do ?

Apply Now for Temporary Residence even with EXPIRED LOCKDOWN PERMITS

The Constitutional Court handed down a judgement in the Ahmed matter as well as a Court Order opening the door for Asylum Seekers and Refugees to apply to change their status to  temporary residence visa . Contact us now before this fantastic opportunity is lost .

Contact us now and ask me HOW CHANGE TO TEMPORARY RESIDENCE . Travel abroad from South Africa , get a Canada , Schengen Visa afterwards .

Under the new rules they don’t have to cancel their asylum or refugee status and can change to any visa class if they qualify from within
South Africa

please contact us on :
Sa Migration International

Whatsapp  Tel No : +27 (0) 82 373 8415

Tel No office : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 ( Whatsapp )

Tel No admin : +27 (0) 64 126 3073
Tel No sales : +27 (0) 74 0366127
Fax No : 086 579 0155

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Home Affairs reopens its Cape Town refugee office it will have taken ten years

09 December 2021- Groundup

Epping office expected to open in September 2022

Asylum seekers protest back in 2012 outside the original Cape Town Home Affairs’ refugee reception office in Maitland. Archive photo: Veronica Washaya

• In its latest report to the High Court, Home Affairs says it now expects to reopen a refugee reception office in Cape Town in September 2022.
• In a decision that the court found irrational and unreasonable, Home Affairs closed its office in 2012.
• It has taken a protracted legal battle to get Home Affairs this far.
• Currently refugees can only apply for asylum in Durban, Musina or Pretoria.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) says it will be almost another year before Cape Town gets a Refugee Reception Office once again.

As required by an order made in May by the Western Cape High Court, Home Affairs was reporting to the court on its progress for reopening a fully functional Cape Town Refugee Reception Office. It said it plans to open the new office at 16 Grenville Avenue, Epping Industrial, in September 2022.

By then it will have been ten years since Home Affairs closed the Cape Town refugee office in 2012. At the time, the High Court said the closure was unreasonable and irrational. Despite court orders to reopen an office, Home Affairs has never done so.

Home Affairs persisted with a long legal battle, until the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the department to reopen the Cape Town office at the latest by 31 March 2018, and to provide monthly status reports on its progress.

Home Affairs sought leave to appeal from the Constitutional Court but this was refused.

Frustrated by Home Affairs’ continued lack of progress, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) then applied to the Western Cape High Court for the appointment of a Special Master to oversee the reopening and to ensure Home Affairs complies with court orders.

The LRC, representing the Scalabrini Centre and the Somali Association of South Africa, had also wanted refugees and new applicants for asylum to be assisted by the department in Cape Town in the interim. This relief was not given.

The closure of the Refugee Reception Office meant refugees could only apply for asylum in Durban, Musina or Pretoria, and if they had originally applied at one of those offices they had to regularly travel and renew in person at the same office, even if they were living in Cape Town. The courts found the closure was unfairly penalising refugees.

But the High Court did not in the end appoint a Special Master, instead it ordered a case management process with Home Affairs required to file progress reports for discussion at monthly meetings with the judge, as well as the lawyers of Home Affairs and the LRC.

In the October progress report, Home Affairs confirmed that funding for the purchase price and installation of the office was in place. But additional funding is unavailable for filling managerial posts.

“The department’s budget committee must now consider whether currently available funds can be reallocated or whether officials may be seconded to the Refugee Reception Office from other posts,” Home Affairs reported.

“The existing project plan indicates that the landlord’s renovations will be completed on 3 May 2022. It will take approximately three to four months thereafter … to fit the offices out to its requirements,” the department said in the report.

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South Africa Banks Threatening to Close Bank Accounts of 178,000 Zimbabweans Exemption Permit Holders Expiring Soon

06 December 2021 - 2021  - voazimbabwe

Some South African banks are threatening to freeze accounts of Special Zimbabweans Exemption Permit holders if they don’t provide new documents in January 2022.

One of the permit holders, who requested anonymity, said he received a notice from Capitec Bank informing him that his work permit is expected to expire and therefore he has to renew it in order to have an active bank account.

The letter reads in part, “… Your work permit expires in January. Visit your nearest branch with your new permit to keep your account active …”

In a message posted on YouTube, Ngqabutho Mabhena, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, said his organization is engaging banks to ensure that ZEP holders’ accounts are not closed since all the permits expire at the end of this month.

“What we have already said is that we need to get clarity on whether the banks will not close down people’s accounts as a result of this 12-month grace period. Any government department will not refuse people entry or refuse to provide services to ZEP holders …”

The South African government decided last Friday to discontinue the ZEP program and give permit holders until December 31, 2022, to regularize their immigration status.

www.samigration.com