Therefore, all official pronouncements about the need for more immigration notwithstanding, what mattered in deciding whether an applicant would be admitted into the country or not was where his father was born rather than the individual's skills or income.
[3] As a result, besides Italians, Poles, Portuguese people, Jews, and especially Afrikaners faced difficulty entering the country, a policy which remained in place until World War Two.
[4] After Italy's surrender in September 1943, the British began repatriating Italian internees and POWs, sending them to Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where they were taken home by ship.
[10] Other migrants arrived directly from Italy, settling most prominently in Avenues, Milton Park, and Eastlea in Harare, with smaller groups moving to Bulawayo, Fort Victoria, and Umtali.
Others started small businesses such as cafes, restaurants, barber shops, grocery stores, and bakeries in central areas such as Eastlea, Willowvale, and Milton Park.
Though never comprising more than a fraction of the white Zimbabwean population, Italo-Zimbabweans are well represented in the hospitality, real estate, tourism and food and beverage industries.