- Thousands of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders face an uncertain future.Â
- Civil society organisations demand urgent clarity from Home Affairs.Â
- Jobs, schooling, and healthcare already disrupted by administrative silence.Â
Nearly a year has passed since the Department of Home Affairs extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) to 28 November 2025, yet the future of thousands of permit holders remains shrouded in uncertainty.
The extension, issued under Immigration Directive No 15 of 2024, was framed as a compliance measure following the North Gauteng High Court’s order for meaningful consultation with affected parties. But with the deadline now fast approaching, the government has offered no clear indication of its intentions, no roadmap, no public engagements, and no assurance that the permit will be renewed or replaced.
The directive, signed by Minister Dr Leon Schreiber on 28 November 2024, reaffirmed the legal protections afforded to ZEP holders. It guaranteed that no individual would be arrested, detained, or deported under Section 34 of the Immigration Act solely for lacking a valid exemption certificate.
It also permitted ZEP holders to enter and exit South Africa under Section 9, and to apply for temporary visas without presenting a valid exemption certificate or authorisation letter. These provisions, while legally sound, have done little to shield permit holders from the real-world consequences of administrative silence.
Jobs, education and healthcare under strain
In a joint statement issued on 26 August 2025, the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA) expressed urgent concern over the government’s failure to communicate its intentions. They warned that the absence of clarity has already led to devastating outcomes. Many ZEP holders have lost their jobs, not because they are unqualified or unwilling to work, but because employers are reluctant to renew contracts without documentation. Families have struggled to register their children for the 2026 academic year, facing bureaucratic barriers that treat uncertainty as non-compliance. Healthcare access has also been compromised, with clinics and hospitals increasingly demanding documentation that ZEP holders cannot produce.
Advisory board silence fuels mistrust
The reactivation of the Immigration Advisory Board was cited in the directive as a key mechanism for compliance with the court order. The board was tasked with advising the minister on how to conduct the consultation process. Yet, nearly a year later, there has been no public update on its composition, its mandate, or its progress. For civil society, this silence is not merely procedural it is a breach of trust and a failure of governance.
A call for leadership and accountability
The Helen Suzman Foundation and CoRMSA have called on the minister to urgently provide clarity on the status of the consultation process. They argue that if the process cannot be implemented in time, the government must extend the ZEP well before the November deadline. Anything less would amount to a dereliction of duty and a violation of the constitutional principles of fair administrative action, they said.
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