Fewer than 4% (6,000 out of 178,000) of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders have made representations to the Department of Home Affairs to say why their documents should not be terminated in December. But the permit holders have to contend with dysfunctional Home Affairs offices and high costs.

Financial constraints and hard-to-meet criteria for alternative permits will lock thousands of Zimbabweans out of their lives in South Africa as the invalidation of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) looms.

Liesl Fourie, an attorney at Nelson Mandela University's Refugee Rights Centre, says: "ZEP holders have to apply for alternative immigration visas... to legalise their stay in SA. These visa applications are R1,750 per visa, plus an additional R800 for the SA Police [Service] clearance certificate, plus medical and radiological reports.

"In addition, they also require a Zimbabwean police clearance certificate and a Zimbabwean passport which will be valid for many months after the expiry of the visa that they are applying for.

"All of this costs money. Each family member, including minor children, who reside in SA, will have to make their application, so the cost increases exponentially with every family member present in SA."

According to the Department of Home Affairs, fewer...