Zimbos in South Africa Face Increased Passport Fees
All e-passport applications that are processed at the consulate in Johannesburg shall be handled as emergency applications.
Zimbos in South Africa Face Increased Passport Fees
Zimbabweans residing in South Africa are about to experience a financial burden due to a recent hike in passport application fees by their government.
The Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg has announced that all e-passport applications will now be treated as express or emergency requests. In a statement dated 26 July, Zimbabwe Consul General Eria Phiri said:
The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed that all e-passport applications that are processed at the consulate in Johannesburg shall be handled as express/emergency applications.
Consequently, Zimbabweans applying for a passport at the consulate in South Africa will be required to pay a fee of US$250, in addition to the standard application fee.
Zimbos in South Africa Face Increased Passport Fees
In contrast, back in Zimbabwe, an ordinary passport application, which typically takes seven days to process, costs US$150, along with an additional $20 application fee.
Surprisingly, the option for a regular passport application will no longer be available to Zimbabweans living in South Africa. The Zimbabwean embassy in South Africa has not provided an explanation for this decision, but it appears to be a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Zimbabwe recently initiated passport processing at its consulate in Johannesburg, which serves a substantial Zimbabwean population estimated to be between one to three million people in South Africa.
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This fee increase comes at a time when South Africa's new Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber, has launched an intensified deportation campaign. Notably, Zimbabwe's passport is already the most expensive in the Southern African region. Adult passport fees are R600 in South Africa, P260 in Botswana, and R400 in Namibia.
