Visa openness within IGAD
IGAD (0.502) records the largest average increase (+0.126) of all eight RECs and has now reached its highest score since 2020. Three of its eight Member States have collectively made policy changes that affect African citizens in 135 travel scenarios relating to travel to an IGAD member state. Kenya stands out, as does Eritrea, for reasons shared earlier.
Reciprocity within IGAD
While IGAD’s average visa openness score has increased significantly over the past year, it continues to lag behind other RECs on reciprocal intra-regional visa openness. This year, 21% of intra-regional travel scenarios are visa-free on a reciprocal basis, up from 14% in 2024 and higher than at any other point since the first edition. This improvement is driven by Kenya’s more liberal policies vis-a-vis the continent more broadly. However, Eritrea and Somalia have also introduced visa-on-arrival facilities for citizens of three other IGAD Member States.
These incremental changes affect the movement of persons and also livestock, which is crucial for the region. The IGAD Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons was adopted in 2021, signed by six Member States, but is yet to enter into force. The IGAD Regional Consultative Process on Migration (IGAD-RCP) is aimed at facilitating coordination on border and migration policies and achieving higher levels of alignment. Collaboration on seasonal cross-border movement of pastoralists and livestock through the IGAD Protocol on Transhumance, also adopted in 2021, aims to prevent conflict and increase regional resilience.