Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs has vowed to adjudicate the applications of the more than 275 000 Zimbabwean nationals who applied to regularise their stay in South Africa, as soon as possible.
The department's Director-General, Mkuseli Apleni, said he hoped the process would be completed by the end of March this year, but this was dependant on a number of factors.
The final count of all the applications that came in before the 31 December 2010 deadline, showed that 275 762 Zimbabwean nationals had submitted applications.
"To date, a total of 42 779 applications have been finalised and approved, with 10 166 awaiting review. A total of 222 817 applications are awaiting adjudication. Amnesty has been granted to 6 243 Zimbabwean nationals," he said.
The number of the Zimbabweans who surrendered their asylum status in favour of valid work and business permits stood at 49 255.
Apleni said the figures were an indication that the majority of Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa wanted to comply with the country's immigration regulations.
While the department was committed to processing all the applications as soon as possible, passports and other documents were still outstanding for some applications. The applications could only be finalised once all these documents had been provided.
In addition, in the weeks leading up to the deadline, the department waived the requirement that the applicant's fingerprints had to accompany their applications. This was done to speed up the processes at Home Affairs offices.
Apleni stressed that applicants still needed to have their fingerprints taken so that they could receive police clearance.
"Our officials and senior managers are continuing to prioritise the finalisation of applications. Zimbabwean nationals will be notified of the status of their applications via SMS," he added.
Apleni appealed for Zimbabwean nationals to be patient, assuring them that no one would be deported until the all the applications had been processed.
He also took time to congratulate pupils who had passed their matric exams, adding that the department had set up a call centre to assist matriculants who had not received their identity documents.
The IDs were particularly important to those who would be entering the job market or intended studying further.
Matriculants who had not received their IDs have been urged to call 0800 601190 or 0800 204476.
