Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Zimbabwe
Rattigan v. Chief Immigration Officer
Supreme Court of Zimbabwe · Zimbabwe · 1994 · National court
Citation: 1995 (2) SA 182 (ZS)
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
May a citizen wife’s foreign husband be refused the right to live and work in Zimbabwe?
What the court decided
No. Refusing residence to the foreign husband breached the wife’s freedom of movement, which includes living in Zimbabwe with her family.
In plain language
Zimbabwean women married to foreign men found their husbands could not get residence. The Supreme Court said a woman’s right to live in her country includes living there with her husband.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Perempuan Zimbabwe yang menikah dengan pria asing mendapati suami mereka tidak bisa mendapat izin tinggal. MA menyatakan hak perempuan tinggal di negaranya termasuk tinggal bersama suaminya.
Pertanyaan: Bolehkah suami asing dari istri warga negara ditolak haknya tinggal dan bekerja di Zimbabwe?
What happened afterwards
- 1994: Judgment.
- 1996: Constitutional amendment narrows the ruling. [Check.]
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/zw-rattigan-1994/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.