Home › News ›

Press statement: Lawyers for Human Rights responds to new Zimbabwe permit announcement

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has cautiously welcomed today’s (Tuesday) announcement by the Department of Home Affairs that a new dispensation permit for Zimbabwean nationals will be issued as of 1 January 2015. Applications will be received from 1 October – 31 December 2014 and permits will be valid for a maximum of three years. This will replace the permits issued during the 2010 Zimbabwe Dispensation Project (DZP) that allowed roughly 245 000 Zimbabwe nationals to live, work, study and run businesses lawfully in South Africa. 

LHR was initially concerned by Cabinet’s decision in March this year that DZP permit holders had to return to Zimbabwe to renew their documents. This would have caused havoc for the South African High Commission in Harare and serious hardship for permit holders. Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba’s introduction of this new approach has allayed some of these fears. 

While this is good news to many Zimbabweans whose DZP permits are due to expire or have already expired; it leaves many others in the dark with little means of regularising their immigration status. Ultimately it will mean Zimbabweans without access to any other permits may rely on the asylum system to regularise their immigration status even if this is not the correct means to regularise their stay in the country.

Several other concerns remain that we hope will be rectified as more details emerge, including that: 

  • Only holders of current DZP permits will be allowed to apply for the new permit. It became clear during the 2010 process that long queues and inconsistent rules prevented many from applying for the permit. In addition, there continue to be applicants who were never issued their permits. We trust Home Affairs has reviewed the previous process and will take measures to prevent this from recurring;
  • A “reasonable fee” will be charged in applying for permits. While not unlawful, we hope Home Affairs will remember the financial difficulties facing many permit holders and will keep the fee as low as possible;
  • Only online applications will be accepted. Vast numbers of people in South Africa, including foreign nationals, do not have regular access to internet facilities. We call on Home Affairs and civil society organisations to be creative in ensuring access to facilities;
  • Permit holders will not be eligible for permanent residence. That the “dispensation” is not a visa as contemplated by the Immigration Act and will not qualify anyone to apply for permanent residence under the normal procedures does not appear founded in law. 

Home Affairs’ efforts to address the growing concerns of current permit holders are a welcome relief but LHR hopes that the pitfalls that dogged the previous dispensation process will be avoided. We also appreciate Home Affairs’ assurance that the process will be open to engagement from stakeholder organisations and the public.