SA permit crisis deepens as xenophobic violence forces mass exodus

SOUTH African’s Department of Home Affairs has launched a stakeholder consultative process on the future of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) and Lesotho Exemption Permit (LEP) programmes following a landmark court ruling that halted the termination of the permits.

In an invitation dated June 18, 2026, the department called on stakeholders and government representatives to participate in a Gauteng provincial stakeholder consultative workshop scheduled for later this month at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park.

The consultations stem from a June 2023 ruling by the Pretoria High Court in the case involving the Helen Suzman Foundation and others against the Home Affairs minister.

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