The Embassy of Zimbabwe in Pretoria on Thursday launched a mapping exercise in anticipation of the return of tens of thousands of Zimbabwe Permit holders from South Africa.
The mapping exercise, which was launched by Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi, will be in two phases.
The first phase will entail online registration, while the second phase will be for in-person registration.
A statement issued by the Embassy of Zimbabwe in Pretoria on 02 February 2023, reads:
It will be recalled that on 29 November 2021, the government of the Republic of South Africa announced that it was not renewing the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP) which were then due to expire on 31 December 2021.
It gave the ZEP holders a one-year grace period, up to 31 December 2022 to apply for waivers or for other visas.
Subsequent to that announcement, the Minister for the Department of Home Affairs, announced on 2 September 2022 that the validity of the ZEP had been extended to 30 June 2023.
Since the announcement of the decision by the government of South Africa to not renew the ZEP, the government of Zimbabwe has stated, on numerous occasions, its readiness not only to welcome but also to facilitate those ZEP holders who wish to return to Zimbabwe.
In order to adequately prepare to do so, the Embassy and the Consulates of Zimbabwe will be conducting a mapping exercise to identify and register ZEP holders who wish to return home.
The mapping exercise will be conducted in the course of February and March 2023, across all the Provinces of South Africa.
This exercise is composed of two parts, the first being an online registration, while the second part involves physical visits by multisectoral teams to designated areas across South Africa.
The teams will comprise officials from the Embassy, the Consulates and several government Ministries.
Phase 1
The first phase will entail an online registration where those who wish to be assisted are invited to register their details on that platform.
The online registration will be open from 02 February to 03 March 2023. The details of the registration are as follows:
1. Link for registration https://my.forms.app/form/63d6907a67afd02358f7346d
2. Contact numbers, WhatsApp only:
Embassy in Pretoria: +27 637126156
Consulate in Johannesburg: +27 828249435
Consulate in Cape Town: +27 699116717
Phase 2
On dates to be announced soon, registration centres will be opened across South Africa for in-person registration.
The Embassy takes this opportunity to remind Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa to be law-abiding citizens and respect the laws of the land.