About 255 000 Zimbabweans took advantage of the government’s special dispensation to legalise their stay in South Africa, a home affairs spokesperson said on Monday.
Ronnie Mamoepa said the final figure for Zimbabweans who applied to legalise their stay in the country stood at 254 802.
“The process of adjudicating their applications will now begin,” Mamoepa said.
Many of those who have applied had been waiting to receive Zimbabwean passports. It was reported in early December that the Zimbabwean government had received more than 30 000 applications for passports but was only capable of processing 500 passports a day.
Attempts to obtain comment from the Zimbabwean Consulate in Johannesburg on how many passport applications had been received were unsuccessful. — Sapa