{"id":75641,"date":"2026-02-10T12:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/75641\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:58:08","slug":"zimbabwean-students-stranded-as-south-african-visa-delays-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/75641\/","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwean students stranded as South African visa delays persist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Scores of Zimbabwean students who secured places at the University of Johannesburg are reportedly facing the real possibility of being shut out of the academic year.<\/p>\n<p>This is not because they failed to meet entry requirements, but because their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/travel\/affordable-visa-free-destinations-south-africans-should-visit-2026\/\" id=\"https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/travel\/affordable-visa-free-destinations-south-africans-should-visit-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">visas<\/a> are still stuck in the system.<\/p>\n<p>Students cannot finalise registration<\/p>\n<p>The semester has already begun, yet many students cannot finalise registration, attend lectures or access campus facilities. <\/p>\n<p>As reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/dailynews.co.zw\/visa-delays-shatter-students-dreams\/\" id=\"https:\/\/dailynews.co.zw\/visa-delays-shatter-students-dreams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Daily News<\/a>, some students are watching classes move on without them while they wait for paperwork that should have been processed months ago.<\/p>\n<p>Several students say they accepted their admission offers early and submitted study visa applications well ahead of time. <\/p>\n<p>At the time, there was little reason to panic. But weeks later, nothing has moved. <\/p>\n<p>Processing delays at South African visa centres have left many stranded, with deadlines closing in fast.<\/p>\n<p>Online reactions gather pace<\/p>\n<p id=\"h-online-reactions\">The situation has also sparked strong reactions on social media, with both South Africans and Zimbabweans weighing in. <\/p>\n<p id=\"h-online-reactions\">Online discussions show a mix of sympathy and frustration.<\/p>\n<p>Here is how some have reacted:<\/p>\n<p>@Mestori Makhetha: \u201cWhat do politicians discuss in SADC and AU meetings if they cannot advise each other to shape up or tie loose ends?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>@Gugu Hadebe: \u201cMy son was admitted in Mpumalanga .UJ was full now I will tell him to apply Zimbabeans must study in Zim leave space for South Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>@Anima Qaloshe: \u201cZimbabwens claim to have better education than SA why are they flocking in our university\u2019s if I may ask.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>@Oyisipho Mlangeni: \u201cOther South African universities must learn from UJ as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>@Pula Nala: \u201cAccording to experts Zimbabwe has the best education and yet all of them are in SA\u201d<\/p>\n<p>@Busi Kalako: \u201cInternational students are allowed in any University.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Visa delays threaten academic plans for Zim students<\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time Zimbabwean students have found themselves in this position. <\/p>\n<p>Every year, large numbers apply to South African universities, and every year <a href=\"https:\/\/smithstonewalters.com\/news\/south-africa-department-of-home-affairs?utm\" id=\"https:\/\/smithstonewalters.com\/news\/south-africa-department-of-home-affairs?utm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">visa backlogs resurface<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While institutions continue to recruit regionally, immigration systems have repeatedly failed to match that demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scores of Zimbabwean students who secured places at the University of Johannesburg are reportedly facing the real possibility&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[305,131,12791,43561,106],"class_list":{"0":"post-75641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-zimbabwe","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-south-africa","10":"tag-study","11":"tag-university-of-johannesburg-uj","12":"tag-zimbabwe"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116046456611297374","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}