our people

Zahida Ebrahim


practical experience
Zahida Ebrahim is an Executive in ENSafrica’s Dispute Resolution department, and heads up the firm’s immigration unit.
She offers an extensive range of immigration and civic services to individuals and multinational companies, including large corporates and top-tier South African and international companies, as well as to various business chambers and professional bodies.
Her specialist immigration knowledge and experience enables me to offer an all-encompassing range of immigration and civic services, including temporary and permanent residence applications; applications for waiver of regulatory requirements; applications to the South African Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Labour for immigration-related certifications; applications to the South African Qualifications Authority for evaluation of foreign tertiary qualifications; citizenship-related matters, including applications for naturalisation, determination of citizenship status and resumption of citizenship; liaison with the Department of Home Affairs and foreign missions, as well as compliance audits and due diligence investigations.
She actively lobbies for immigration reform by preparing representations to the South African Department of Home Affairs on new and proposed legislative changes, including the current draft Critical Skills List 2021. She has previously advised various business chambers and professional bodies on their submissions to government in relation to proposed legislative changes.
Zahida has also served on a panel of specialist advisors to a previous Minister of Home Affairs.
She is often invited to speak at various international and local immigration law seminars, including:
- AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) Global Migration Section (annually since 2013)
- The International Bar Association’s Nationality and Immigration Conference (biannually since 2007)
- The International Bar Association’s Virtually Together Conference (2020)
She has contributed to a number of international and local texts and publications, including Labour Law for Managers: A Practical Handbook; the Employment Law Review and the Getting the Deal Through Labour and Employment Law publication, Global Mobility Handbook, and Oxford University Press' Corporate Immigration Guide.
She is recognised as a leading/recommended lawyer by:
- Business Women’s Association’s Regional Business Achiever Award 2016 – Professional category
- Best Lawyers® 2021, 2020, 2019 – Immigration (South Africa)
- Who’s Who Legal 2019,2017, 2016 – Immigration (South Africa)
qualifications
- LLB (University of the Western Cape)
- Admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa