Stuck With “Temporary” Permit for Fifteen Years
There is a substantial community of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders in South Africa that has been living in a waiting room since 2009. Many of the ZEP holders are active participants of every community they live in, where some members teach in public schools, nurse in public hospitals, run spaza shops, pay PAYE and VAT, raise children who speak isiZulu or Sesotho before Shona or Ndebele, and still, after many years, they cannot apply for permanent residence...
South Africa’s asylum policy and the people caught in between
In April 2024, South Africa’s department of Home Affairs published a white paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection (DHA, 2024). A revised draft followed in 2025, open for public comment until mid-February 2026. The document is a proposal to move away from a residency-based immigration system and more towards a point driven. The proposal affects the lives of many people which also includes asylum seekers and refugees living in the country, and it forces the reckoning with...
Navigating Livelihood and Belonging: The Everyday Realities of African Migrant Women in Cape Town
“When I hear the word Home Affairs I run the other way.” – Patricia, a Zimbabwean migrant woman Patricia’s words capture both a personal fear and a systemic reality. They reflect not...
Research Findings Verification Workshop: Legal Frameworks for Refugees/Asylum Seekers and Children on the Move in Malawi
Malawi continues to play an essential role as a transit destination for international migrants mainly from other African countries including asylum seekers and refugees in need of protection. Children on the move including children of refugee and asylum seekers, separated and unaccompanied children also contribute to the share of people on the move in the country. The protection of asylum seekers, refugees and children especially unaccompanied and separated minors on the move remains a fundamental right...
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Belonging Denied: How Neoliberal Inclusion Still Excludes Citizens with immigration backgrounds in South Africa
South Africa is widely known as the “Rainbow Nation”, a country that accepts and celebrates diversity, equality and inclusion. The ideology reflects the nation’s aspiration to create a society where people of different cultures, races and background can coexist equally as citizens. However, for many legal immigrants in south Africa, this promise of belonging remains incomplete. Research by Yvonne Zama Sibaya on “The middling Citizenship Trap” highlights the contradiction within citizenship systems
Operation Dudula Ruled Unlawful: What the Court Decided
The South African High Court ruled that Operation Dudula’s actions are unlawful and unconstitutional, affirming that only police and immigration officers may request identity documents. The court has interdicted Operation Dudula and its leaders from demanding passports, intimidating or assaulting foreign nationals, engaging in hate speech, blocking access to healthcare or schools, unlawfully evicting people, interfering with traders or employment, and inciting others to do so. Operation Dudula must inform all its members of the ruling....
