If you hold a Zimbabwean or Lesotho Exemption Permit, the date to plan against is 28 May 2027, and the practical deadline sits well before it. The documents every mainstream route depends on, SAQA evaluations, council registrations, police clearances and foreign civil records, are measured in months. Counting backwards, the useful starting point is now.
What is actually in force
The extension was gazetted twice, on 7 October 2025. The LEP directive is Government Notice R. 6715 in Gazette No. 53483 (Immigration Directive No 20 of 2025); the ZEP directive is Government Notice R. 6716 in Gazette No. 53484 (Directive No 21 of 2025). Both were signed on 3 October 2025 by the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr L.A. Schreiber, MP, under section 31(2)(b) of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, extending validity until 28 May 2027, being eighteen months after the previous expiry of 28 November 2025.
Three protections sit in the directives:
- No holder may be arrested, ordered to depart, detained for deportation or deported under section 34 for want of a valid exemption certificate.
- A holder may enter or depart South Africa under section 9, read with the Immigration Regulations 2014, if all other entry requirements are met.
- No holder should be required to produce an exemption certificate, visa or authorisation letter under section 32(1) when applying for a temporary sojourn visa under section 10(2).
That third clause matters most: it lets an exemption permit holder lodge a mainstream temporary residence application without regularising something else first.
One inconsistency to note. The Department's own media statement of 15 April 2026 says permits "remain valid until 29 May 2027, as per the extension granted by the Minister in June 2025", misstating both the date and the month of the grant. The Gazette carries the legal force. Plan to 28 May 2027.
What is not settled, and why you cannot wait for it
The Department has been consulting on a long-term position for both permits, with the Immigration Advisory Board involved. Its 15 April 2026 statement records that "a detailed report with clear recommendations will be presented to Cabinet by the end of the 2026/27 financial year", meaning by 31 March 2027. A decision then would land about two months before the permits expire, less time than the slower categories take to adjudicate. Too late to be your plan.
On permanent residence, the same statement is explicit: "Consistent with the conditions of their permits, the holders of ZEP do not qualify for permanent residence permits." Permanent residence is governed by sections 26 and 27 of the Act, and the ordinary sequence is to obtain a mainstream temporary residence visa first and qualify from there. Treat any offer of a shortcut with suspicion.
There is also live litigation. Operation Dudula served a notice of motion on the Minister in March 2026, contending that he lacked the authority or did not follow proper procedure, and asking that a fresh directive give holders six months to apply for alternative documents. No judgment or hearing outcome could be verified as at this review, so treat it as unresolved.
The five realistic routes, and what each one needs
Government Notice 5448 in Gazette No. 51416, 18 October 2024, sets one points table for both work visas, under sections 19(2) and (4) read with regulations 18(12) and (13). An applicant "must earn 100 points": reach them through a critical skills occupation and it is a critical skills visa, reach them any other way and it is a general work visa.
Critical skills work visa, section 19(4)
An occupation on the critical skills list scores 100 points on its own, the full threshold. Regulation 18(5) then requires written confirmation of your skills, qualifications and post-qualification experience from the relevant professional body or council recognised by SAQA, proof of application for registration with it where the law requires that, and a sworn-translated SAQA evaluation of the foreign qualification. Add a police clearance and the employer's undertaking on deportation costs under regulation 18(1). Issued for up to five years, with matching visas for a spouse and dependent children under regulation 18(7).
General work visa, section 19(2)
Same table, different arithmetic. The gazetted values: NQF 9 or 10 scores 50 and NQF 7 or 8 scores 30; an offer of employment, marked mandatory, scores 50 above R976,194 gross per annum and 20 between R650,976 and R976,194; five to ten years' experience scores 20 and over ten years scores 30; an offer from a Trusted Employer scores 30; proficiency in at least one official language scores 10.
Work the table and a hard fact appears. A candidate with a master's degree, over ten years' experience and a South African language, earning below R650,976, reaches 50 plus 30 plus 10, which is 90. Not enough. Without either a salary above R650,976 or a Trusted Employer offer, 100 points is out of reach on this route. Raise it with your employer early, and in writing.
Relative's visa, section 18 with regulation 17
Requires proof of kinship within the second step to a South African citizen or permanent resident, by unabridged birth certificate and, where necessary, paternity results, plus a police clearance and the financial assurance under section 18(1). Regulation 17(2) does not fix that amount: it is prescribed by ministerial notice in the Gazette, proven by a current salary advice or a certified bank statement not older than three months, and it falls away where that relative is a dependent child. Confirm the current gazetted figure, not a number you have been quoted. Issued for a maximum of two years at a time, and it is not a work visa.
Where the relative is a spouse or life partner, the better route is usually section 11(6), which can carry an endorsement to work, study or conduct business.
Study visa, section 13 with regulation 12
Regulation 12 requires an acceptance letter confirming the course and its duration, the Registrar's or Principal's undertakings on registration and de-registration reporting, a police clearance, annually renewed medical cover under the Medical Schemes Act, and proof of means. Regulation 12(3) permits part-time work of no more than 20 hours per week, and the visa lapses automatically on de-registration.
Business visa, section 15 with regulation 14
The heaviest document load. Regulation 14 requires an accountant registered with SAICA, SAIPA or SAIBA to certify the prescribed cash and capital contribution, an undertaking that at least 60% of the total staff complement will be citizens or permanent residents with proof within 12 months, registration undertakings for SARS, the UIF, the Compensation Fund and CIPC, a police clearance, and a recommendation from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition on feasibility and national interest. The capital amount is set by ministerial notice in the Gazette, so check the current notice before budgeting.
The documents that set your timeline
- SAQA evaluation of foreign qualifications. Usually the longest single item, measured in months, and longer where SAQA must verify the award with the issuing institution abroad. Start this one first.
- Professional body or council registration. Required for most critical skills occupations. Timelines vary by council and sit outside the Department's control.
- SAPS police clearance. Turnaround varies with workload. Lodge a complete, correctly taken set of fingerprints the first time, because a resubmission restarts the wait.
- Foreign civil records. Unabridged birth and marriage certificates and, where required, paternity results. Zimbabwean and Lesotho records come from those governments through their missions, so confirm timelines with the mission.
- Passport validity. A renewal sitting behind a visa application delays everything after it.
For employers, one dated item: expressions of interest for Trusted Employer Scheme Phase II opened on 20 July 2026 and close on 4 September 2026, with outcomes within 30 working days. Trusted Employer status is worth 30 points, for many candidates the difference between 90 and 120.
Working back from 28 May 2027
Immigration Circular No. 08 of 2026, published on 15 July 2026, sets adjudication targets for applications lodged inside South Africa, excluding those at foreign missions: roughly four weeks for critical skills and general work visas, eight weeks for business, 60 working days for study, and 120 working days for relative's and section 11(6) spousal visas. These are performance targets, not guarantees.
That split is the part most timelines get wrong. On a relative's or spousal visa, 120 working days is close to six calendar months, so an application lodged in February 2027 is not on target for a decision before 28 May 2027. To have an outcome by the deadline you would need to lodge around November 2026, with documents finished by roughly October 2026. On critical skills or general work the window is short and the documents are the real constraint, so a pack lodged in February or March 2027 still has margin. Study and business sit between the two.
A workable sequence:
- Now to October 2026. Status audit. Lodge the SAQA evaluation, start the police clearance, check passport validity and order foreign civil documents. Employers decide on the TES expression of interest before 4 September 2026. Anyone on a family route should be assembling to lodge.
- October 2026 to March 2027. Professional council registration. Confirm the employment offer, job description and gross annual salary in writing, because the salary band decides the points. Then quality-check the pack, book the VFS appointment and lodge.
Immigration Directive No. 7 of 2026, issued on 30 March 2026, extends status to 30 June 2027 for applicants with pending waiver, long-term visa and appeal applications, on a verifiable VFS receipt. It excludes permanent residence applicants and does not on its face address exemption permit holders. It protects an application already in the queue, not a substitute for lodging one.
What to do next
Start with the audit, not the application. Establish which routes your facts support, then work backwards from the slowest document, not from the deadline. Legalyze's ZEP & LEP Transition Support service covers that: a status audit, a route shortlist, a document and timing plan, and an employer evidence checklist. It is delivered as a DIY Application Kit from R1,500 for self-filers, a Guided Application from R5,500 for a prepared, consistency-checked pack, or Full-Service Coordination from R8,500 for time-critical matters. Police clearances sit under the separate Police Clearance Certificates service. Legalyze provides administrative support rather than legal representation, and reserved legal work is referred to an admitted practitioner under a separate mandate.
No route can be promised, and no service provider has influence over a departmental decision. What early preparation buys is a shortlist, an evidence timetable and a decision date, instead of a queue in the final months.
Last reviewed: 29 August 2026. Verify the gazetted position, the current ministerial notices and any litigation outcome before acting.
This article is general information about the current framework and is not advice on your individual circumstances.