By Khalifa Hemed
Published December 21, 2023
East Africa’s Rwanda ranks alongside West Africa’s Benin and The Gambia and Indian Ocean Islands’ Seychelles as the only four countries that African citizens can visit Visa-free.
Rwanda has topped the Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) that measures the extent to which African countries are open to visitors from other African countries following what is described as a progressively more liberal visa regime pursued over the past 8 years. In 2016, the country allowed the citizens of nearly 90% of African countries to obtain a visa on arrival; with citizens of the remaining countries being able to enter the country without a visa. It later abolished visa fees for African citizens, and in 2023, Rwanda dropped visa requirements for the citizens of the entire continent.
“This has eased the burden of travel for the citizens of 35 African countries that had until recently still required a visa on arrival,” AVOI report notes.
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The visa openness achieved its highest score ever in 2023, surpassing levels last seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) measures the extent to which African countries are open to visitors from other African countries.
AVOI report shows that 50 countries have improved or maintained their 2022 score, with only 4 countries scoring lower. Since the first report was published in 2016, 36 countries have improved their score on the index. Forty-two countries extend visa-free entry to citizens from at least five other African countries, while 33 countries do so to citizens of at least 10 countries. Four countries–Rwanda, Benin, The Gambia and Seychelles–have eliminated all visa requirements for African travelers.
In 28% of all intra-Africa travel scenarios, African citizens do not require a visa (an improvement from 27% in 2022 and 20% in 2016). A visa is still required in 46% of travel scenarios on the continent – down from 47% in 2022 and 55% in 2016.
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“It makes it easier for Africans to visit their families, pursue education and business interests abroad, and discover Africa as tourists. It also contributes towards the fulfillment of aspirations for a prosperous, integrated continent where people can develop their potential unhampered by overly restrictive visa regimes,” notes Jean-Guy Afrika, Acting Director of African Development Bank’s Regional Integration Coordination Office.
“Freer movement of people could help galvanize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), bringing us closer to the realization of our shared goal of an integrated Africa where goods, services, capital, and people move freely,” says Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery at African Development Bank.
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The report also measures average visa openness within the AU-recognised Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and finds that average visa openness has improved in 6 of the 8 RECs over the past year. RECs continue to be important drivers of visa openness through regional initiatives aimed at dismantling barriers to the movement of people.
In this respect, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) scores highest on the regional score and is where African citizens enjoy the highest levels of freedom to move across borders. ECOWAS has taken a progressive stance on visa openness for decades, formalizing it in 1979 with a protocol on the free movement of persons, residence and establishment.
In addition to boasting the highest average regional AVOI score on the continent, ECOWAS also records the highest visa-free reciprocity rate: this is the rate at which the visa-free policies of individual countries within the REC are reciprocated by its member states. In 97% of travel scenarios, citizens can enter another country within the same REC without the need for a visa.
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Despite the many improvements, there are still hurdles to overcome. In nearly half of country-to-country travel scenarios (46%), Africans are required to obtain visas ahead of departure to travel to other African countries. Visa restrictions are notably pronounced in northern and central Africa. Sustaining the momentum on visa liberalization is crucial for realizing the vision of the ‘Africa We Want.’ Embracing liberal visa policies will not only facilitate seamless travel but also contribute significantly to enhanced trade in goods and services, cross border investment and shared prosperity.
“The flourishing of trade in goods is intricately linked to the liberalization of trade in services, both of which hinge on the smooth movement of people across Africa’s borders without excessive bureaucratic hurdles,” says Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development at African Union Commission. “We have never been closer to realizing AfCFTA’s potential to integrate the continent. The African Union is proud of countries’ progress on freeing the movement of people.”
