More good news for ZEP holders – ZimEye

South Africa – Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has simplified the red tape in processing Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs).

The Minister of Agriculture has set up a new technical team to speed up the work permit application process.

Around 178,000 ZEP holders who are allowed to live and work in South Africa face a looming deadline as their permits expire in 2025.

In response, Zimbabweans and their employers are actively applying for regular work permits.
In 2022, then Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi pushed for a more streamlined process by introducing an exemption that allowed ZEP holders to apply for mainstream work visas without having to obtain certification from the Department of Labour and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The move was intended to facilitate a smooth transition from the ZEP programme.
However, Schreiber noted that the exemption for SAQA certificates was mistakenly omitted in the notification sent to ZEP holders. “This defeats the purpose of the exemption as it creates a bottleneck where Home Office officials are unsure how to process applications. A legal opinion further confirmed that this oversight needed to be corrected through a technical amendment to the circular,” he explained.
The necessary amendments were officially announced on Wednesday. Schreiber is optimistic about the change: “With this amendment, we hope to accelerate the process of moving from ZEP to mainstream work visas for applicants who contribute to the economy and meet the legal requirements. It is important to note that the exemption will only allow ZEP holders to submit their applications more quickly and will not affect the subsequent outcome of any application. A specific application must still meet all relevant criteria in order to be successful.”
Schreiber also highlighted the severe backlog of visa applications, which reached 306,000 at the end of May. To address this, the department’s “backlog team” is now working in two shifts per day to reduce delays.
Finally, Schreiber stressed that this technical amendment is part of the department’s broader effort to eliminate regulatory bottlenecks and clear existing backlogs.
-Online

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