Zimbabwe exemption permit saga: Home Affairs facing fresh lawsuit as another challenger enters fray
The Department of Home Affairs is facing another lawsuit relating to the looming termination of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).
The ZEP is a special dispensation permit established more than 10 years ago that gives legal protection to an estimated 178 000 Zimbabwean nationals to live, work and study in South Africa.
However, the Cabinet decided in January that the arrangement must be terminated by December and that applicants should apply for a visa to remain in South Africa, based on a list of critical skills needed in the country.
In June, the Helen Suzman Foundation said it would be taking the government to court for discontinuing the permits. It said termination would turn ZEP holders in South Africa into undocumented migrants and force them to return to Zimbabwe if they did not meet the strict conditions of one of the visa categories on offer. The foundation said they would face similar conditions to what had led them to flee.
https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/zimbabwean-exemption-permit-court-battle-underway-to-stop-arrests-deportations-20220727