Schreiber not committing to position on future of ZEP permit

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Newly-appointed Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber is not yet committing to a position on the future of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) which is set to expire in 2025.

The Constitutional Court recently dismissed former Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi’s bid to appeal the Gauteng High Court ruling that invalidated the decision to terminate the ZEP.

The ZEP is a special permit issued under the Immigration Act, allowing its holders temporary legal status to live, work, and study in South Africa. It was introduced by the South African government to manage an influx of undocumented Zimbabweans between 2009 and 2017.

The ZEP allows approximately 178 000 Zimbabweans to reside in SA legally.

The court ruling places the future of the ZEP in the hands of Schreiber, who affirmed that any decision must be preceded by a rational and constitutionally fair process.

Schreiber says, “It is broader than just one permit because this is going to affect how you are going to handle immigration issues actually across the board and so we are going to have to take some time, not rush into anything because I think that is one of the issues that we saw in those court rulings is that we need to go and consider really that we are acting rationally within the rule of law before we make any of those decisions. So, there will be a lot of focus on getting it right”

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