Home Affairs and Culture Heritage Ministry has revealed that there are individuals who are initiating unauthorised processes to renew visas and various other permits on behalf of foreign nationals whose permits have been affected by the COVID-19 lockdown measures, appearing as if this has been sanctioned by the Immigration Department.
The Ministry says the Department of Immigration has not tasked persons or any individuals for that matter to carry out the exercise of extending the stay of persons, especially foreign nationals who have been affected by the lockdown measures which government recently instituted to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Accordingly, the individuals carrying out this exercise, purportedly on behalf of the Immigration Department are doing so for their own selfish gains and designs,” the Ministry says in a press release.
“Noone should pay any fee to any individual misrepresenting to be providing these services on behalf of the Immigration Department. This is a government service which does not require any facilitation from any third parties.”
The Department which focuses on Zimbabwe’s homeland issues referred to the dictates of Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 [Public Health (COVID Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020 (S.I. 83) gives an automatic extension of permitted residence of foreign nationals during the lockdown.
SI 83 says “the diplomatic visa, temporary residence permit or employment permit of every foreign national who, during the period of national lockdown, is permitted to be in Zimbabwe by virtue of that visa or permit is hereby extended so that the period of the national lockdown is not counted as part of the period during which they are permitted to be in Zimbabwe.”
“The net effect of SI 83 of 2020 [Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020 was that it automatically renewed the immigration status of all foreign nationals whose status became invalid consequent to the lockdown, that is diplomatic status, time restricted residence permits, temporary employment permits, scholar’s permits, student’s permits, temporary permits, visas and visitor’s entry certificates,” the Ministry explains.
“The public are therefore urged to ignore any unofficial and unsanctioned communication purportedly being done on behalf of the Immigration Department.”
Zimbabwe is currently going for a 21 days lockdown that started on 30 March 2020.
The lockdown has witnessed businesses suspending operations with airline operators also suspending travels to Harare.
