The Minister of Home Affairs has granted Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders a further extension, i.e. until 31 December 2023, for their alternative visa or waiver applications to be processed (the previous deadline was 30 June 2023).

This extension does not come as a surprise, particularly in the light of the blanket extension, also up until 31 December 2023, that was given a few months ago to other foreign nationals whose visa or waiver application outcomes were still pending.

The reasons given for the extension are essentially as follows:

• The large number of visa and waiver outstanding applications that need to be processed
• The further inflow of applications: Since May 2023, VFS Global has been receiving between 1000 and 1500 visa and waiver applications in respect of Zimbabwean nationals daily
• Submissions received from various interested parties

For the Department of Home Affairs’ press release, click here and for the Minister’s Immigration Directive click here.