South Africa urge Zimbabweans to regularise their stay or

The South African Home Affairs department has again encouraged Zimbabweans in that country to regularise  their stay.

Holders of the Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP) who would fail to comply with the law by end of December face deportation.

According to a tweet by the Home Affairs department today under the handler @HomeAffairsSA, that country's Cabinet it still to finalise the permits issue.

It posted "#DHA and Cabinet are still in  talks regarding #ZSP however holders are encouraged to regularise their stay whilst in #RSA"

Reports indicate that permit holders are nervous about their future in South Africa.

An estimated three million Zimbabweans are said to be in South Africa, most of them illegally.

In 2012, Pretoria issued ZSPs to allow thousands of Zimbabweans illegally working in Africa's most industrialised economy to regularise their stay there.

The permits first expired on December 31, 2014 and were renewed the following year for three years.

Out of the 200 000 applications received back then, slightly over 185 000 were approved while the rest were rejected.