More than 200 000 Zimbabweans have lodged an application at the Gauteng High Court to be granted permanent residency in South Africa.
200 000 Zimbabweans want permanent residency in SA
As reported by Moneyweb, the applicants are faced with the possibility of deportation when their Zimbabwean Exemption Permits expire in December 2021.
If that happens, hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who’ve made a home out of a temporary stay in South Africa, will be left destitute.
Advocate Simba Chitando who represents holders of the soon-to-expire exemption, added that Zimbabweans who’ve lived in South Africa for 10 years or longer under the permit “make a huge contribution to the SA economy.”
Chitando argued, in a statement, that while documented Zimbabweans are one of the hardest-working groups in South Africa, it is wholly unfair that because they have no permanent residency, they don’t get to enjoy benefits such as “full access to banking facilities, or the right to accumulate pension savings.”
“We argue that it is past time to grant permanent residence to those Zimbabweans who have been living and working in SA in a kind of no-man’s land. We believe it is reasonable to expect to be granted permanent residence when the ZEPs expire, which they do in December 2021,” the advocate said.
What is a Zimbabwean Exemption Permit?
At a time when scores of Zimbabwe escape the harsh conditions of their country, South Africa was one of the SADC allies that opened its doors to the refugees.
To mitigate the huge influx of undocumented foreign nationals, the South African government, in 2014, introduced the Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permit system which granted nationals from Zimbabwe to legally reside within SA borders.
The temporary permit had a 2017 expiry date and when that lapsed, the Department of Home Affairs, allegedly pressured by the Emmerson Mnangagwa regime, extended the stay of more than 200 000 with the renewed exemption permits.
This version of the ‘free pass’ came with the condition that Zimbabweans would enjoy limited access to permanent residency but once the permit expires in December 2021, it will not be renewed.
With the clocking winding closer to the deadline date, Zim nationals are drawing from the ambits of the Immigration Act to convince the Gauteng High Court to approve their permanent residency in South Africa, a decision that would grant them access to a South African ID.