South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has started nationwide public consultations on the future of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) and Lesotho Exempt...
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has started nationwide public consultations on the future of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) and Lesotho Exemption Permit (LEP), as government authorities move to comply with legal requirements following previous court challenges.
The consultations are being conducted in line with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) of 2000. The Department said the process is aimed at ensuring that any future decisions regarding the permits are fair, transparent and legally sound. The consultations come amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of thousands of Zimbabwean and Basotho nationals living and working in South Africa under the special permit system.
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In a statement issued on Friday, Department of Home Affairs spokesperson and Deputy Director-General for Operations, Thulani Mavuso, said the government was following court directives that require an inclusive consultation process before any final decision is made.
“Following previous legal challenges, the Department is strictly adhering to the court’s directive that any final decision be reached only after a rigorous and inclusive consultation process,” said Mr Mavuso.
He said the main purpose of the consultations was to gather input from all affected stakeholders and evaluate how future decisions could affect permit holders, their dependents and the wider South African public. According to the Department, the consultation process began with government stakeholders in Tshwane on April 14 this year before expanding to different provinces through physical and virtual meetings.
Public workshops have already been held in the Free State on April 23, while virtual sessions were conducted for the Eastern Cape on May 13, North West on May 19 and the Western Cape on May 22. The Department said the consultations have attracted participation from Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders, Lesotho Exemption Permit holders, community members, traditional leaders, representatives from agriculture and business sectors, civil society organisations and Chapter 9 institutions.
Mr Mavuso said additional consultation meetings are still scheduled in several provinces. A physical consultation meeting is expected to take place in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, on May 26, while KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape will host virtual consultations on May 28 and May 29 respectively. Another physical consultation is expected in Polokwane, Limpopo, on June 10.
According to the Department, the consultation process will conclude with a National Consultation Workshop in Gauteng on June 18. The workshop is expected to bring together key stakeholders including civil society organisations, litigants linked to the ZEP court case, the embassies of Zimbabwe and Lesotho, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and Chapter 9 institutions.
Mr Mavuso said the consultations would help government formulate a comprehensive policy position on both the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit and Lesotho Exemption Permit systems. He added that a detailed report containing recommendations from the consultations and stakeholder submissions would be presented to Cabinet before the end of the 2026/27 financial year.
“The Department remains committed to finding a sustainable, fair and legally sound solution to this long-standing matter,” said Mr Mavuso.
The Department also encouraged members of the public and affected stakeholders to submit written contributions regarding the permits. Submissions can be delivered by hand to the Department in Pretoria, sent by post to Private Bag X114, Pretoria, 0001, or emailed to ZEPLEP@dha.gov.za.
Meanwhile, the Helen Suzman Foundation has urged Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders and other stakeholders to actively participate in the nationwide consultations. The foundation was part of a legal challenge against the South African government regarding the planned termination of the permits.
The consultations follow a 2023 High Court ruling in the case of the Helen Suzman Foundation versus the Minister of Home Affairs and Others. The court found that the earlier decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits was unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. The judgment stated that affected individuals should be given a meaningful opportunity to present their views before decisions affecting their rights and legal status are taken.
Since the court ruling, South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has issued several extensions to the validity of Zimbabwean Exemption Permits. However, uncertainty still remains over the long-term future of approximately 178,000 Zimbabwean permit holders currently living in South Africa under the special permit arrangement.
The Zimbabwean Exemption Permit system remains an important immigration and labour issue in South Africa, affecting families, businesses and communities across the country. The ongoing public consultations are expected to play a key role in shaping future government policy on immigration permits, legal status and the rights of foreign nationals living in South Africa.
