Civil Registration and Social Inclusion: Challenges faced by SADC migrants in the host country of Zimbabwe.

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the challenges faced by immigrants in accessing civil registration documents in the host country and how these challenges negatively affect their well-being, such as by excluding them from essential necessities of life. The focus on civil documentation access was chosen because obtaining these documents opens access to many other rights vital for migrants' well-being in the host country. Civil documentation promotes migrants' social inclusion. The study used a qualitative approach; data were collected from Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province, Kwekwe District, focusing on migrants from SADC states. Key informants were purposively selected, and data were analysed through content analysis. The study identified major challenges, including failure to provide required documentation, rising intermarriages, attitudes of civil registry officers, lack of decentralized birth registration systems, and language barriers. It also highlighted exclusion from economic and political rights, social protection, education, and health as significant consequences of civil documentation-related statelessness. The study, therefore, recommends that policymakers address this issue urgently, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the country’s development aims.