SA neighbours passport costs eight times more than SA’s passport!
Zimbabwe, South Africa’s neighboring country, has one of the most expensive passports on the African continent when renewed in South Africa.
The price of obtaining Zimbabwean passports in South Africa has skyrocketed, making it nearly impossible for Zimbabweans living in South Africa to acquire legal documents.
The cost of obtaining Zimbabwe passports in South Africa is nearly eight times more than that of SA passports.
ZIMBABWE’S COSTLY PASSPORT
Zimbabwe’s consulate in Johannesburg said that from 29 July all passport applications will be handled as express applications. These will cost USD 250 (R 4 600), instead of USD 170 (R 3130).
By comparison, the cost of an ordinary South African passport (a 32-page document) is currently R 600. South Africans are fortunate that SA passports do not cost the earth.
INCREASED ZIMBABWE PASSPORT FEE
The Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg said that Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has directed that all e-Passports applications that are processed at the Consulate in Johannesburg should be handled as express or emergency passport applications (in terms of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2024).
This therefore means that passport application fees for an express/emergency passport shall apply.
The fee is set at USD 250 (charged at the prevailing USD/ZAR exchange rate) with effect from 29 July 2024.
ORDINARY PASSPORT COSTS
The price of an ordinary Zimbabwe passport has increased significantly. This puts renewed passports out of reach for most Zimbabweans, especially those living in South Africa, earning South African Rands.
The new fee is excessive and thus makes legal documentation extremely expensive for expat communities.
According to Groundup, a Zimbabwean informal trader living in Gqeberha said, “We are suffering in foreign countries because of their (Zimbabwe’s) mismanagement of our country and they now milk us dry like this.”
PETITION AGAINST COSTLY ZIMBABWE PASSPORT FEE
The Zimbabwean community in South Africa can ill afford the price of a new passport.
Times Live reports that a petition launched on July 30 asking for a reprieve in price, from USD 170 to USD 250, has already gathered almost 1 300 signatures.
The petition asks for Zimbabwean authorities to indeed review the fees. As stated in the petition, “This fee is far beyond what many Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa can afford, considering the average earnings of our community.”
REACTION FROM ZIMBABWEANS
A group of Zimbabweans living in SA marched to Zimbabwe’s Embassy in Tshwane on Tuesday calling for a fee reduction.
The group was joined by some EFF members, as reported by The Citizen. The group claims that the steep increase deprives Zimbabweans of essential legal documentation.
The petition also claims, “It’s an overwhelming burden that prevents us from securing our legal documents which are part and parcel of our fundamental human rights.