Zimbabweans in SA protest at Embassy in Pretoria against passport fees

Zimbabweans living in South Africa are delivering a petition to the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria to protest the increase in passport fees.

 

The group is also advocating for the removal of ZANU PF, accusing the party of failing Zimbabwean citizens.

 

The spokesperson for the Zimbabwean community in South Africa, Mr Mugore criticized the passport fee hike from R3,141 to R4,620 as excessive.

 

The Zimbabweans are calling on the government to review the e-passport fees which is pegged at US$250.

 

The Zimbabwean government recently set the fee for e-passports at its South African consulate at US$250, classifying the document as an emergency application.

 

This decision aligns with Statutory Instrument 1 of 2024 regarding passport fees.

 

An ordinary e-passport costs US$150, with an additional US$20 application fee.

 

According to Consul-General Eria Phiri, the new fee structure was effective immediately.

 

All e-passport applications processed at the Johannesburg Consulate will be treated as express/emergency applications, resulting in the US$250 fee being applied at the current US$/ZAR exchange rate from July 29, 2024.

 

This change means passport seekers will pay a total of US$270, including a US$20 fee for each electronically readable passport application to obtain a quick response (QR) code.

 

Zwnews