The impact of COVID-19 on human mobility is expected to have far-reaching socioeconomic consequences including on remittance flows to the region. As of 3 March 2021, 24 per cent of the 329 Points of Entry (PoE) assessed by IOM in the Southern Africa region were fully closed, 68 per cent were partially or fully operational and the status of 8 per cent unknown ( IOM, 2021). At the same time, several countries have automatically extended visa and permit extension to those already regularly in country before the pandemic, showing some leniency for stranded migrants and visa overstayers ( IOM, 2020). ![]() The measures include the withdrawal of exemptions for nationalities previously visa-exempted and the invalidation of visas for nationalities from COVID-19 hotspots. COVID-19:Based on the rapidly evolving epidemiological conditions across various parts of the region, COVID-19 related travel measures continue to keep regional mobility and migration curtailed.Fluid, circular migration patterns and maintenance of socioeconomic networks between rural places of origin and urban centers have become increasingly common strategies for resilience in this diverse region ( FAO and CIRAD, 2017 ). Slow-onset disasters such as drought impact the lives and the migration patterns of millions in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zambia ( SADC, 2019 ). In the eastern part of the region, Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and other countries are frequently affected by natural hazards such as cyclones and flooding ( IDMC, 2019 ). ), the most industrialized economy in the region and a particularly attractive destination for those in search of education and better opportunities. An estimated 2.9 million migrants resided in South Africa at mid-year 2020 ( ibid. ![]() Industrial developments, the mining sectors in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, and the oil wealth of Angola have been magnets for both skilled and unskilled labour migrants from within the region and elsewhere. In a region with an estimated population of 363.2 million people and 6.4 million international migrants at mid-year 2020 ( UN DESA, 2020 ), a few countries serve as the economic pillars of the region. Migration to and from countries in Southern Africa 1 is driven largely by the pursuit of economic opportunities, political instability and increasingly, environmental hazards.
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