In a recent announcement, the Minister of Home Affairs Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi brought relief to 178,000 Zimbabweans (ZEP) and 54,663 Lesotho (LEP) exemption permit holders. These holders can now breathe a sigh of relief as the minister revealed his decision to grant them new permits, which will be valid and allow them to stay in South Africa until 29 November 2025. The new permits are to be issued to approximately 233,000 existing permit holders from the two countries.
However, holders will not be entitled to apply for permanent residence status under the Immigration Act or any other provisions in any other law, irrespective of the period of stay, and will not be able to change their status in the country or renew the permits. A permit holder will be entitled to work, seek employment, and conduct business and must also disclose or register all their minor children staying in South Africa. They will be allowed freedom of movement between their birth country and South Africa.
Furthermore, the Minister has extended the validity of their current permits until 31 December 2024. Both ZEP and LEP were initially set to expire at the end of 2023. However, amidst ongoing litigation involving the Minister and the Helen Suzman Foundation, the validity of ZEP permits was previously extended until the end of June 2024.
During the press briefing, the Minister of Home Affairs made it clear that about 78,126 Zimbabweans who applied for waivers and 10,427 who applied for other visas are afforded certain protections while they await the outcome of their waiver and visa applications. Additionally, they need not worry about applying for the new exemption permits and their status will remain protected while awaiting their applications to be adjudicated and finalised.
However, for the Zimbabwean and Lesotho nationals who did not apply for waivers or any of the other 17 visa categories, the Minister further called on them to seize the opportunity and initiate the application process for new exemption permits through VFS Global.
Stay tuned for further updates and ensure you take advantage of the window of opportunity provided by the Minister of Home Affairs for a smooth application process.
View Directive No. 3 of 2023 for LEP holders, and Directive No. 4 of 2023 for ZEP holders.
