SA extends special permits for foreign nationals

South Africa will extend special permits granted to immigrants from Zimbabwe and Lesotho by two years after the Supreme Court of Appeal barred the authorities from rescinding them.

The government decided not to renew expired permits that were issued to 54 653 Lesotho nationals and 178 000 Zimbabweans as part of an effort to stem an influx of economic migrants. The Helen Suzman Foundation, a civil rights group, successfully challenged the move, arguing that economic conditions that prompted people to relocate hadn’t improved and their children who were born in South Africa would be unfairly prejudiced.

While the government is appealing the Supreme Court’s ruling, the outcome “is unknown at this stage,” Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told reporters in Pretoria on Friday. “We are also considering the Department of Home Affairs’ budgetary constraints.”

The permits will now expire on November 29, 2025, with the necessary directive to be published in the government gazette on December 4.

The minister denied claims by business groups that his department was struggling to process a backlog of business visa applications, saying priority had been given to those who had properly applied and had scarce skills.

“The backlog, and where a solution must be found, is on dependency visas” sought by the families of business people, he said. “We have given all our resources to business visas, CEOs of companies and so on.”