SA has not yet been affected by US president Donald Trump’s sweeping visa restrictions on countries in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).
The Trump administration last week paused all immigrant and non-immigrant visa services in Zimbabwe except for most diplomatic and official visas.
The US embassy said the “Trump administration is protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process. We are always working to prevent visa overstay and misuse.”
This happened a day after the US implemented a new policy for citizens of Malawi and Zambia, who must pay a bond of between $5,000 and $15,000 to travel to the country.
The US cited the “overstay rate” as a reason for the policy. The American Immigration Council reported the total list of countries that could be affected by travel restrictions in August was about 36.
This tally supplemented the 12 countries on which the US introduced restrictions and limited entry by citizens in June: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Unisa’s Prof Anthoni van Nieuwkerk said at first glance the administration’s decision might seem to be for security reasons, but Trump’s political stance suggested the decisions were “anti-immigrant”.
“This might be part of a bigger issue whereby the Trump administration is implementing a quite draconian system of expelling and getting rid of or denying citizens entry into the US whom they regard as unfriendly or as part of the international community that is aggressive against the Americans,” he said.
As to whether SA should be worried about the restrictions, Van Nieuwkerk said the country might not immediately be affected by the restrictions.
“I do not think SA is on this target list immediately,” he said. “There are members of Congress in America who want to review the relationship with SA. They see SA as an unfriendly country.
“If our trade talks fail completely, SA’s ICJ [International Court of Justice] case against Israel gets more attention and Brics becomes more bold, then the techniques such as the one we are talking about will be implemented for SA.”
The restrictions on Zimbabwe are likely to affect the professional class negatively. “It is a tragic situation. I do not think the professionals who travel for work from Zimbabwe, Asian countries and other countries should be targeted and punished in this manner.”
Wits University Prof John Stremlau said the restrictions on Zimbabwe were a sign of worsening ties between the two countries under Trump. The US under different administrations had bans on Zimbabwean politicians and businesses.
“It is getting worse under Trump. Maybe it will change under a successor but there is an anti-immigration psychology among a lot of voters in America and Europe.”
He described the US travel restrictions as “pure and simple racism. It is targeting people of colour. The descendants of the British Empire are welcome.”
Stremlau said Trump was unpredictable and he was concerned about SA because the country was already in his administration’s “crosshairs”. Trump “is a clown, but he is a dangerous clown”.
“He was enamoured with an appeal from AfriForum regarding the killing of white farmers, however exaggerated [this was]. His order on February 7 2025 really showed him as the racist that he is.
“He offered sanctuary for white farmers: not many of them have availed themselves of that opportunity. He has condemned SA’s diversity, equity and inclusion objectives.”
Adv Simba Chitando of the Zanu-PF Sandton branch was hopeful about Zimbabwe-US ties despite the restrictions.
“The decision by the Trump administration is unfortunate, but it is by no means a sign of deteriorating relations between the two nations,” he said.
“Last year the US pulled back executive order sanctions on Zimbabwe. This year, secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US recognises the spirit and strength of the Zimbabwean people.
“Zimbabweans remain optimistic that, like the scale-back on sanctions and Washington’s low tariff rates, together with increased business between the two countries, the pause, we hope, will be temporary.”
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