SA Permits: Thousands could have been left out
By Mxolisi Ncube | The Zimbabwean |
Thousands of Zimbabweans were panicking this week, as collection of the Zimbabwe Special dispensation Permits came to a close.
The South African government said the collection date would not be extended beyond September 30, leaving in panic several prospective holders who were rejected earlier or could not make the online applications due to various reasons.
Others were told early this week that their permits had not yet been processed.
Some of these applicants physically submitted their applications as long ago as November 2014, while some who submitted on the last day of the application period – April 30 – had received theirs.
A recent public notice stated “Collection of Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permits (ZSP) to close on September 30, 2015” and gave applicants procedures for checking their permits.
These include a walk-in to the nearest Visa Facilitation Centre, calling the VFS call centre on +27 87 825 0675 during working hours and emailing [email protected] to make enquiries.
“We have not been told about any extension and that means there will be no extension beyond that deadline because we have to move to other nationals,” said a DHA official.
“I would like to advise all those who applied but have not yet collected their documents to do so with haste. There will be no other chance after this and whoever remains undocumented after that might find themselves in deep trouble.”
At the close of the online application process on December 31, 2014, about 207,000 applicants had submitted their renewal requests out of a total of 295,000 people that applied when the first special permit was rolled out in 2010.
