ITweb
THE South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will deliver the outcomes of visa waiver applications via e-mail to applicants, starting with Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs).
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DHA minister, Dr Leon Schreiber introduced the new rule recently, in a first step towards the department’s digital transformation.
According to a statement, the DHA will send out the outcome of waiver applications for ZEP holders digitally, effective immediately.
The home affairs department issues ZEPs to Zimbabwean nationals applying for general work visas in SA.
According to the ministry, applicants will no longer be required to visit a VFS Global branch – the DHA’s official partner for ZEP renewals in SA – to collect physical, paper-based copies of the waiver letters.
Instead, ZEP holders will receive digital waiver letters in PDF format through e-mail. The digital letters can be used to submit a mainstream visa application going forward.
“While this step on its own may be a small one, it is still meaningful as part of our larger quest to clamp down on corruption and to enhance efficiency of services by transforming home affairs into a digital-first department,” says Schreiber.
“This simple embrace of a digital-first approach to processing waivers has also significantly accelerated our work to clear the permitting backlog that dates back a decade, which started out at over 306 000 unprocessed applications.
“Through this change, we have been able to effectively process 60 582 outstanding ZEP waiver applications, many of which date back to 2022.
“Another 22 529 ZEP waiver applications are set to be processed soon, further reducing the backlog and freeing up valuable resources in a department that has been financially gutted to the point of only having 40% of the staff resources. This step illustrates our absolute determination to use technology to do more with the little we have.”
Over time, the digital-first approach will be extended to other applicants in the visa and permit regime, reveals the DHA.
The department indicates applicants who still prefer to collect hardcopies of ZEP waiver letters at branches will be able to do so.
It also allayed fears, saying applicants should not be doubtful when they receive an outcome digitally via e-mail.
