Returning Zimbabweans battle with bureaucracy
Published: 14/Jan/2016
Source: groundup.org.za
Zimbabweans who travelled to Zimbabwe before their Special Dispensation Permits were issued have complained of problems on their return to South Africa after the holidays.
In November, Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba said Zimbabweans can travel freely during the festive season.
But some returning Zimbabweans have complained that their passports have been stamped with permission to stay for only three to five days.
On 12 August 2014, Gigaba changed the Zimbabwe Dispensation Programme (ZDP) which was launched in 2009 to the Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permit of 2014 (ZSP). ZSP online applications started on 1 October 2014 and closed on 31 December 2014. The department opened Visa Facilitation Services centres in Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga to administer the ZSPs. R870 is charged per applicant and the permits are supposed to take eight weeks to be issued. First applications were submitted on 1 November 2014.
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