South Africa has toughened its requirements for Zimbabweans wishing to travel to the country, demanding a Z$108 000 ($432) security deposit, it emerged Thursday.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper said the fee was refundable and would be used to cover the costs of repatriation should the need arise.
”This is a repatriation guarantee,” an employee at the South African High Commission’s visa section confirmed in response to a telephone enquiry.
The employee stressed that the fee was not a new development and would not be demanded from Zimbabweans who could provide proof of steady employment back home.
But speculation will be high in Zimbabwe that Pretoria is enforcing the regulation in a bid to stem the influx of impoverished Zimbabweans trying to find economic solace in their country’s southern neighbour.
The deposit — which represents about three months’ salary for the average Zimbabwean — must be handed over as a bank-guaranteed cheque.
Zimbabweans wishing to cross legally into South Africa already have to show they have R1 000 in travellers’ cheques when they apply for a visa.
With inflation at more than 1 023% and prices rising daily, life is getting less and less attractive in Zimbabwe, prompting many to attempt a perilous crossing of the Limpopo River into South Africa.
South Africa is reported to be deporting at least 265 illegal Zimbabwean immigrants a day. — Sapa-dpa