The department of home affairs says its campaign to document hundreds of thousands of illegal Zimbabwean migrants is almost complete, even though it has finished processing fewer than half of the work and study permit applications it has received.
Last year the department embarked on the Zimbabwean Documentation Project (ZDP) to formalise the stay of Zimbabweans who had entered the country illegally, offering a temporary amnesty during which migrants, many of whom had initially sought refugee status, were invited to apply for permits.
The department’s deputy director general, Jackie McKay, told reporters in Pretoria on Thursday that after receiving 275Â 762 applications, about 134Â 000 work or study permits had been issued. The applications that had not yet been processed were waiting on applicants to supply supporting documentation.
“There are a number of issues we are dealing with, such as the slow arrival of passports from the Zimbabwean government, as well as still needing to take fingerprints of some applicants,” McKay said.
The ZDP is due to finalise the adjudication of permits from undocumented Zimbabweans by the end of July — a deadline the department has vowed to keep.
“We will conclude the adjudication of the applications by July 31 and finalise all outstanding matters in August,” McKay said.
The department expects as many as 99% of the applications to be successful.
Reasons for leaving
The department’s campaign aims to not only provide study or work permits to Zimbabweans living in South Africa, but also to record their reason for leaving their country.
The department could not immediately confirm how many Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa were seeking refugee status — rather than applying for work or study permits — but estimates vary from one million to five million.
The majority of asylum seekers claim they are political refugees, fleeing violence and civil turmoil in their homeland.
“Zimbabwean asylum seekers were not obliged to apply for these permits, but those who did apply relinquished their asylum claims,” McKay said.
The department of home affairs confirmed that, following consultations with the Zimbabwean government, a deadline for providing any outstanding documentation would be set in due course.
McKay warned that illegal migrants who had not applied faced arrest and deportation.
“We will document those Zimbabweans who have applied to regularise their stay in South Africa, but those who have not applied and are found to be illegal will be deported like any other illegal immigrant,” McKay said.