According to Zimbabwean authorities, the country has received 58 100 applications for passports, of which 16 427 have been issued, home affairs said on Tuesday.

"There is therefore the assumption that if 58 100 have applied for passports and we in South African have received 275 622 applications for documentation, then the remaining applications do not have passports," Home Affairs Director General Mkuseli Apleni said in a statement.

However, it was not clear if the remaining applications already had passports.

About 350 applicants a day, wanting to legalise their stay in the country, did not have a passports, Apleni said.

The Zimbabwean government was going to give home affairs feedback on Tuesday on the strategy to be implemented to ensure people got passports.

"They will also have to tell us how those who have not yet applied for passports can be assisted," he said.

The department said it would achieve the June 30 deadline set for the documentation of Zimbabweans living in South Africa.
It held regular meetings with some 19 Zimbabwean representatives, including that country's government.

In April last year Pretoria announced a moratorium on the deportation of Zimbabweans in South Africa illegally. They were granted a special dispensation for one year to get their documents in order and normalise their stay in this country.