Court battles could be on the cards following a decision by the government not to renew the Zimbabwean special visas, which granted many nationals of the Southern African nation the right to do business, work or study in SA.

“Holders of the [visas], on the face of it, appear to have three options,” said Simba Chitando, an advocate on behalf of a group of Zimbabweans in SA who filed papers in the high court requesting the government grant holders of the special visas permanent residency...