Pretoria - Almost 2 000 Zimbabweans turned up at Home Affairs' offices countrywide on Monday to get their documents in order.
This was day one of the Home Affairs' Department's programme to regulate the stay of Zimbabweans in South Africa.
The department recently asked Zimbabwean immigrants to apply for relevant documents and register their status in the country. The six-month special dispensation -- in which Zimbabweans could come live in South Africa and have the right to work, education and basic health care -- is coming to an end on 31 December.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba, in an interview with the SABC on Wednesday morning, said this was a good response.
This special dispensation started on Monday and will come to an end on 31 December.
Gigaba said of the 1 945 people who visited Home Affairs offices on Monday, 1 553 of them wanted more information about the process while 388 applied for work, study or business permits.
Four people also brought in their fraudulent documents and applied for amnesty.
"For those who bring back fraudulent South African documents we will provide them with amnesty and provide them with documents for the purposes of which they are in South Africa," Gigaba added.
He said that those who had entered the country illegally, but were properly employed, studying or conducting proper business activities in South Africa, would be given the relevant documentation but only if they had proper travel documents from their home country.
Those who have employed Zimbabwean nationals have been urged to write affidavits stating that they had been gainfully employed in order for Home Affairs to give them the proper documents.
Gigaba reminded Zimbabweans that this initiative was not an endless process that would take place continually, warning that those who failed to sort out their documentation by the end of the year would be deported.
"We appeal to all foreign nationals to take advantage of the generosity of the South African government, to regularise their stay and help us deal with the challenges they are having," he said.
Once the process has been completed in respect of Zimbabwean nationals, it will be extended to those from other African countries next year.
