Pretoria - More than 10 000 Zimbabwean nationals have applied for permits to stay in South Africa since a special documentation process was opened on 20 September.
Undocumented Zimbabweans living is South Africa have until 31 December to apply to the department to have their stay in the country registered.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said authorities have received 10 287 applications for study, work and business permits over the past three weeks.
So far, 2 126 permits have been issued, while 174 have been rejected due to inaccurate information.
Gigaba said a further 30 915 people have also used the call centre to inquire about the process to regularise their stay in the country.
"The response has been overwhelming in most of our major offices. As a result, we have had to make necessary interventions to ensure that the project continues to run smoothly and finish by 31 December," he said.
Contrary to media speculation regarding the department's capacity to implement the project, there were enough resources to ensure the December deadline is met, Gigaba said.
Several non-governmental organisations have expressed doubt on whether there was enough capacity to document all the affected immigrants ahead of the set deadline.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, however, commended South Africa on its migration policy and the government's efforts to document Zimbabweans.
This after Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the commission that she was "inspired" by the high number of Zimbabweans who have turned up to document their stay in the country.
On Wednesday, Gigaba said the department had deployed about 354 employees nationally to administer the registration process, adding that capacity may be increased based on demand.
Major challenges had been reported at the Johannesburg regional office this week, with some people allegedly spending days in the queue. Gigaba said the department will be reopening one of its closed offices in Market Street to alleviate the pressure from the regional office.
"We urge Zimbabwean nationals wishing to apply to approach any of our regional offices so that the volumes are spread across the overall capacity we have made available in all 41 regional offices," he said. -
