Applicants who prefer hard copies of ZEP waiver letters will still be able to collect them at branches.

Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, during the swearing-in ceremony of the new national executive members at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 3 July, 2024 in Cape Town. 

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced that the first batch of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) waiver applications has been processed.

ZEP holders will no longer need to go to Home Affairs branches to find out the outcome of their applications. The department will be sending them out digitally.

In December last year, then-minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi granted at least 178,000 Zimbabweans exemption permits until 29 November 2025.

Until then, no holder of a valid exemption permit may be arrested, ordered to depart or be detained for purposes of deportation or deported for any reason related to them not having any valid exemption certificate.

In the meantime, Zimbabweans have to apply for other types of visas to regulate their stay in the country.

The ZEP has allowed Zimbabweans to live, work and study in South Africa since 2009. This has been part of the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project.

ZEP waiver applications

Schreiber announced on Thursday that the department has managed to process 60,582 outstanding ZEP waiver applications. Many of these date back to 2022.

The department will process another 22,529 ZEP waiver applications soon, he said. 

“Over time, this digital-first approach will be extended to other applicants in the visa and permit regime,” said Schreiber. 

“This means that applicants will no longer be required to visit a VFS branch to collect physical, paper-based copies of the waiver letters. Instead, starting today with ZEP holders and later, all applicants will conveniently receive digital waiver letters, in PDF format, through email. These digital letters can be used to submit a mainstream visa application going forward.

“While this step on its own may be a small one, it is still meaningful as part of our larger quest to clamp down on corruption and to enhance [the] efficiency of services by transforming Home Affairs into a digital-first Department.”

Applicants who still prefer to collect hard copies of ZEP waiver letters at branches will still be able to do so.

Digital-first Home Affairs

In his statement to the portfolio committee in Home Affairs in parliament last week, Schreiber said the issues faced by the department, including application delays and fraud, were a national threat and would only be curbed by a digital approach.

“The lack of a modern digital system to process all applications, adjudications and communication at Home Affairs is the root cause of the national security threat we face in this sector,” said Schreiber.

“Home Affairs systems are vulnerable to fraud, corruption and discretion because they are outdated, antiquated, paper-based, manual and, therefore, open to subversion.”

The minister said he would move with urgency to digitally transport the department.