The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) will on Tuesday hear a pivotal case that could determine the future of approximately 178,000 Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa under the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) system.
The Department of Home Affairs, according to GroundUp report is appealing a June 2023 interim interdict granted by the High Court, which prevents the arrest or deportation of ZEP holders while legal challenges to the programme’s termination are still ongoing. The interdict was granted following a case brought by the Zimbabwean Immigration Federation (ZIF).
Home Affairs argues that the ZEP system was always intended to be temporary and subject to the discretion of the Minister. The department says its decision to terminate the permits should not have been blocked by the courts and is now calling for the SCA to overturn the interdict.
However, ZIF contends that ending the ZEP without transitional protections would cause irreversible harm to permit holders, many of whom have built their lives in South Africa over more than a decade. They argue that the abrupt end to the scheme exposes thousands to loss of employment, access to education, family separation, and the constant threat of arrest or deportation.
ZIF maintains that it is “common cause and undisputed” that without the interdict, many permit holders would face immediate deportation — including those married to South African citizens or raising children in the country — in direct violation of their constitutional rights to dignity and family life.
Although the validity of the ZEP was extended until November 2025, the Department of Home Affairs argues that this case is now moot. It points to a separate ruling in a case brought by the Helen Suzman Foundation, which declared the minister’s attempt to terminate the ZEP unlawful — a decision that the department is also appealing.
Home Affairs insists that requiring the minister to maintain the ZEP indefinitely — until Zimbabwe’s socio-economic conditions improve — would impose an unreasonable and unlawful burden on the state.
ZIF, however, rejects this view. It says the department is focusing on legal technicalities while ignoring the real-world impact on people’s lives. “Even without deportations,” ZIF states, “a sudden shift from lawful residence to undocumented status places people at risk — stripping away basic protections, jobs, education, and stability.”
The organisation also disputes Home Affairs’ claim that ZEP holders could have applied for other visas, saying these alternatives were largely inaccessible, impractical, or too slow to process. In fact, they argue, the ZEP was originally introduced precisely because the majority of beneficiaries did not qualify for regular visas — a reality the department itself acknowledged in earlier court filings.
The outcome of the SCA hearing could have far-reaching consequences for tens of thousands of Zimbabwean nationals and the broader immigration policy landscape in South Africa.
