Supreme Court of Appeal hears Zimbabwean permit case

Home Affairs is appealing an interdict protecting ZEP holders

An interdict protecting ZEP holders is being challenged in the Supreme Court of Appeal. Archive photo: Tariro Washinyira

• The Supreme Court of Appeal will on Tuesday hear the Department of Home Affairs’ appeal against an interdict protecting ZEP holders.

• The interdict was granted in June 2023 in a case brought by the Zimbabwean Immigration Federation (ZIF).

• Home Affairs argues that the ZEP system was always meant to be temporary and that the minister could decide to end it.

• But the ZIF says that terminating the ZEP will cause irreparable harm to hundreds of thousands of people.

The legal saga over the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) returns to court on Tuesday as the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) hears the Department of Home Affairs’ appeal against a ruling that temporarily protected ZEP holders from arrest and deportation.

The interim interdict, granted in June 2023 in a case brought by the Zimbabwean Immigration Federation (ZIF), shielded all ZEP holders — about 178,000 people — while the legality of the permit system’s termination was being challenged.

The validity of the ZEP was last year extended to November 2025.

The Department of Home Affairs is asking the SCA to set aside the interim relief granted to the ZIF, effectively reinstating the department’s ability to enforce immigration laws against ZEP holders until the wider legal questions around the permits are resolved.

In its court papers, the Department of Home Affairs argues that the matter should be considered moot because there’s already a separate high court ruling, in a case brought by the Helen Suzman Foundation, that declared the minister’s decision to end the ZEP system unlawful and set it aside. The department is also appealing that ruling.

According to the department, the permits were always meant to be temporary and subject to the minister’s discretion. It argues that requiring the minister to maintain the ZEPs until Zimbabwe’s economic conditions improve would amount to an indefinite obligation not supported by the law.

In response, the ZIF argues that the department’s appeal fails to take into account the severe human consequences of terminating the ZEP system. These consequences go to the heart of constitutional rights and cannot simply be brushed aside.

The ZIF argues that it is common cause and undisputed that “ZEP holders would likely be deported in the absence of an interdict preventing such deportation” and that “for ZEP holders that are married to South Africans there would be a breakup of families in violation of their rights to family life and dignity.”

They contend that even without deportations, the sudden shift from lawful residency to undocumented status strips permit holders of basic protections. It places jobs, access to education and family stability at risk and opens people to the daily threat of arrest, harassment, or detention.

ZEP holders face irreversible harm, the ZIF argues. Many would not qualify for any other visa, despite having lived, worked, and built families and businesses in South Africa for over a decade.

These are not hypothetical concerns, they say. When the ZEP system was initially terminated, thousands of people were left scrambling to apply for exemptions they were unlikely to qualify for, with no realistic chance of their applications being finalised in time. That uncertainty continues to this day and remains a real and ongoing threat to livelihoods, safety, and dignity.

They claim the department relies on technical arguments to justify ignoring these impacts, but that doesn’t excuse the abrupt and damaging way the policy was ended or the lack of meaningful alternatives for those affected.

The ZIF also rejects the department’s claim that ZEP holders could have applied for other visas instead of relying on court protection. They argue that these alternatives were either unavailable, impractical, or too slow.

The ZEP scheme was created precisely because most permit holders did not qualify for mainstream visas and the department admitted as much in its own court filings, they argue.

South African Permanent Residence



South Africa encourages permanent residency if you are serious about staying in South Africa on a long terms permanent basis there are many categories you can apply under.

Hold a General Work Visa for five years and have a permanent job offer.
Hold a Relative’s Visa sponsored by an immediate family member.
Hold a Critical Skills Visa and have 5 years relevant work experience.
Be in a proven life relationship relationship for five years
Be married to an SA relationship for at least five years.
Have held Refugee Asylum Status for five years.
Hold a Business Visa.
Receive a monthly income of R37,000 through Pension or Retirement Annuity
Have a net asset worth of R12m and payment to Home Affairs of R120,000
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Please email us to info@samigration.com
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Relative's Visa

A Relative's Visa may be issued by the Department to a foreigner who is a member of the immediate family of a citizen or a resident, providing that such citizen or resident provides the prescribed financial assurances.

This only applies to first level of kinship i.e: Brother, Sister, Mother, Father.

The period of validity of the Visa shall be determined by the financial assurance provided, but will not exceed a period of 24 months at a time. A relative Visa issued to a relationship shall lapse upon the dissolution of the relationship relationship and the Department may at any time satisfy itself that a good faith relationship relationship exists and or continues to exist.

Let SA Migration Intl handle your entire case from filling out the documentation to processing the application.

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How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415

Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
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Get More Info By Following Our Page: https://www.youtube.com/@samigration

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

Do you have a Zimbabwean ZEP Permit - Need to Change ?

Check all information directly with VFS / DHA or a registered immigration practitioner or immigration lawyer this circulating in your community , it is not factually correct , this is for ZEP holders . If you are unskilled Department of Labour will definitely not grant a waiver , get professional advice from a registered immigration practitioner

Good evening dear members. We now have Immigration Directive 12 of 2021. I would like to encourage all of you without or with professional qualifications etc who would want to apply for a General Work permit later to apply for a Waiver within the next 9 days and Department of Home Affairs have said they will process your waivers applications before 31 March 2022. If your waiver applications is successful and granted, you will be able to apply for a General Work Permit without a need to have documentations required like certificates, Saqa documentation, police clearance, newspaper adverts etc. They will only then need your employers letter, valid passport and covid vaccination certificate to apply for the General Work Permit when your waiver applications is successful.

What is a Waiver?

It is an application made in South Africa and adjudicated by the Department of Home Affairs. In order to apply for a waiver the applicant must be in possession of a valid refugee or immigration status (eg a valid ZEP Permit and not an expired one).
The minister yesterday issues Directive 12 of 2021 and on (a) he said he will need until 31 March 2022 to make outcomes for all Waivers applied for. And anyone who doesn't have a Waiver or General Work Permit Application by 1 April 2022 will be described as "undesirable" and will have to to 31 December 2022 to pack bags and kids and return to Zimbabwe without being formally charged at the border or legal port of exit to avoid being deported

Here is fake link https://www.vfsvisaonline.com/DHAFOSOnli.../gatewaypage.aspx “
Sa Migration says
“ Here is part of the scam , the link above is a real VFS visa page and when you capture the page it goes back to home page and it goes nowhere , it was taken out of context – check the real VFS pages https://www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica/ “

Please contact us for the real information , following the advice will lead you to heart break
How can we help you , please email us to info@samigration.com whatsapp me on:
+27 82 373 8415, where are you now? check our website : www.samigration.com
Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm

How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415

Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm


Get More Info By Following Our Page: https://www.youtube.com/@samigration

Varsities, colleges asked to update data on foreign staff

Parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education and training has requested that all 26 institutions of higher learning submit updated statistics on employment of foreign national academics.

This follows outrage over the Central University of Technology (CUT) revealing that it employs more foreign academics than South Africans during their meeting with the committee in April.

In a letter dated May 2, 2025, addressed to Minister of Higher Education and Training Nobuhle Nkabane, the committee requested that all universities make submissions on the matter by May 21.

The committee wants institutions to provide “detailed background about how many foreign nationals are employed at each university; when were they appointed in their current jobs; breakdown by faculty, department, and administration; country of origin of the foreign academics, including their qualifications”.

Last month the CUT came under fire after it disclosed 15% of its workforce consists of foreign nationals while only 1% of faculty positions are occupied by South Africans from Asian, coloured and white communities. The information prompted public discourse and led to debates about employment equity at institutions of higher learning.

The committee believes that new data is required because the last report was released in 2019.

The Report of the Ministerial Task Team on the Recruitment, Retention and Progression of Black South African Academics, released by the higher education department says the national average for international academic staff across the 26 universities was 11.2% in 2017.

While the overall percentage of international permanent instructional/research staff at universities is 11.5%, varying across ranks, with the highest percentages occurring at senior lecturer (13.3%), associate professor (18.5%) and professor (17.4%) levels.

At the time, CUT was just above the average with 11.8% international academic staff. Wits University employed the most foreign nationals at 25.1%, with UCT and University of Fort Hare (UFH) placed second and third respectively.

The study, however, stresses that further steps should be taken if the reliance on international recruits is a result of inability or reluctance to recruit and retain South African academics.

At least 34% of the international academic staff in South African universities were from Zimbabwe and Nigeria, with Zimbabweans accounting for 25%.

“For UFH and University of Venda, large numbers of the international academics are from Zimbabwe and Nigeria, while UCT and Wits appear to be able to attract academic staff from a much wider range of countries,” the report reads.

The report acknowledges that international staff representation adds immense value, but representation needs to be truly broad rather than predominantly from a few countries.

“When the main reason for international staff recruitment is not a purposeful and reasonable internationalisation agenda, but rather a result of an inability to attract, recruit or develop local academics, then the challenges need to be fully understood and addressed,” it reads.

It then raises concerns about recruitment practices that result in disproportionate representation of international staff from one country in specific departments at some universities.