Scores of Zimbabweans are now resorting to using forged travel documents and government pay slips in a bid to cross into South Africa, as the economic situation in that country continues to deteriorate, Mirror has established.

The principal immigration officer for Beitbridge, Mr Dennis Chitsaka, told Mirror on Tuesday that the department had of late intercepted several Zimbabweans for attempting to cross the border while using forged travel documents. Zimbabwean public servants are exempted from applying for a South African visa as part of a bilateral agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe. They are however, required to produce a government pay slip and a letter from their respective departments.

"We have now tightened screws on our public servants intending to cross into South Africa through the Beitbridge border post, following an increase in the number of people forging government pay slips and other travel documents in an effort to cross into South Africa. As immigration department, we have arrested quite a number of them and we are continuing with the blitz. We want public servants to produce letters confirming that they are indeed employed by the government," Chitsaka said.

Recently, a Zimbabwean pastor was also intercepted at Beitbridge while trying to cross into South Africa while using a forged Mozambican emergency travel document.

The country’s home affairs department has tightened visa requirements for Zimbabweans intending to enter the country through its embassy in Harare. Applicants are now required to produce R2 000 traveler´s cheques, a letter from the person inviting them to South Africa and an affidavit issued by the department as part of the entry conditions. This has also fuelled border jumping, as some Zimbabweans were now resorting to crossing the crocodile-infested Limpopo River illegally.