Recommendations and suggestions for 2026 and beyond
Freedom of movement is the human engine of Africa’s integration. It deepens social connections, strengthens resilience, and represents a critical component enabling the flow of goods and services across Africa’s borders.
It helps facilitate transfer of skills and knowledge, unlocks value chains, encourages cross-border investment, supports tourism, and reinforces the AfCFTA’s objectives on industrialisation and job creation, thereby supporting sustainable economic development.
The evolution of countries’ visa policies continues, and recognition of and support for visa openness remains steady. Changes in Africa’s visa openness over the past year have been in both directions, and are generally nuanced and incremental rather than bold and progressive. However, 2025 sees a lower overall visa openness score. While several countries have opted for a more liberal visa policy regime with respect to citizens of specific countries, others have undertaken larger changes, either by introducing visa-on-arrival, or switching back to a visa required ahead of travel, sometimes in the context of a digitalisation process. The impact on travellers then depends on the substantive changes that result from such a switch; a well-functioning and cost-effective online process in such instances is still preferable to a traditional visa application.
Given the opportunities that can flow from digitalisation, and countries’ concerns about retaining control and oversight over immigration and border processes, evolution in this respect will continue. It is important that in this process changes don’t lead to unnecessary and costly barriers to the freedom of movement. And more so, that changes do not lead to regression to the cause of a visa-free Africa. Countries embarking on an ETA process, driven by security considerations in lieu of visa-free policies, should be mindful of striking the right balance between a reasonable basic vetting process on the one hand, and regressive systems that create significant new barriers to entry and that undermine the free movement of people in Africa on the other.
Streamlined requirements, transparent fees (ideally limited to direct cost recovery of the services rendered and not using visas as an income stream for national accounts), and interoperable digital systems will help translate any intent to facilitate movement into positive impact, making it easier, faster, and more affordable for Africans to move, do business, and participate in the continent’s growing and integrated single market.
Suggestions
Create a Visa-Free Africa campaign to advocate for free movement.
Advocate for ratification of the PFMP: Target advocacy of the PFMP through joint action with all key stakeholders to ensure a better understanding and build momentum towards broader ratification.
Invest in efficient border facilities: Elevate facilities and upgrade skills training for frontline immigration officials to speed up border processes, consider automation via e-gates, make provision for vulnerable categories, and ensure high standards of customer service and anti-xenophobia awareness.
Replace visa-on-arrival with visa-free entry: Countries that offer a visa-on-arrival should consider offering visa-free entry instead, since biometric information is captured by immigration authorities at entry.
Roll out e-Visas whenever a visa is still required ahead of travel: Countries that still require a visa ahead of travel should set up functional, secure and user-friendly e-Visa portals to ease these processes.
Keep administrative and information overheads to a minimum in electronic processes: Where e-Visas are in use, or an ETA is required or being considered, this should limit any administrative requirements to essential biometrics, and keep costs to a minimum (limited to basic system cost recovery and not used for income generation purposes) without imposing onerous additional requirements such as proof of available funds, return travel details, accommodation bookings or invitation letters from local operators.
Use social media: Use official government social media channels to support and inform travellers, as well as to promote official and legal channels where a visa is still required.
Align policies with IATA information: Ensure that visa policies are accurately conveyed to IATA and regularly verify accuracy and correct display of visa policy information on IATA portals given reliance by airlines and border management authorities on this information.
Offer electronic authorisation services through simplified processes: Any ETAs being considered should prioritise simplicity and accessibility. Development of an app for the purpose of uploading biometrics and a photograph can simplify processes and should involve a largely automated process. Countries should consider making this process free of charge to prospective travellers.
Set multiple entry visas as a default: Visas or ETAs should, where applicable, permit multiple entries as a default rather than be limited to single use, and their expiry date should be linked to the validity period of the travel document.
Allow the use of national identity documents among neighbours: Countries with advanced and dependable population registry systems should consider allowing cross-border visa-free travel using national identity documents.
Use a central authoritative communication channel for each country for clear communications: Government websites (including immigration and official tourism authorities, as well as any visa/ETA portals), should prioritise transparent, updated (and dated), easily accessible, and well-structured information relating to any visa-related policies with respect to all other countries. Several of the current e-Visa portals offer limited tangible information, for example often providing no transparent details about costs until the application process has already commenced.
Accelerate and recognise the impact of peoples’ skills: Support implementation of the AfCFTA in general and its Protocol on Trade in Services in particular through an AfCFTA pass offering fast track, digitised authorisation for those holding contracts in AfCFTA States. Visa portals should, as appropriate, accommodate these categories.
Create a means to recognise top performers, and actively engage through the AUC and RECs to share experiences in managing visa free movement.
Focus on RECs: Countries should re-evaluate and prioritise any outstanding signatures and adoption of regional free movement protocols.
Develop regional visas and collaborative approaches to movement and travel: RECs should investigate the feasibility of a regional visa for citizens of non-Member States, which would offer broader access and a lower cost and administrative burden, while encouraging regional travel and trans-national tourism. In practice, a visa for one country in a REC would enable access to all its Member States.
Explore REC visa units: RECs should consider regional visa units that evaluate regional visa policies, design and deliver training programmes for immigration and border officials on visa facilitation, customer service and risk profiling, and support development of secure and simple interoperable visa platforms in those situations where a visa is still required for intra-regional travel or visitors from outside the region.
Conduct REC visa advocacy: RECs (visa units or other appropriate authority) should undertake targeted regional advocacy campaigns on the economic, social, and developmental gains of visa liberalisation, and advocate and provide technical assistance as needed for Member States to adopt and apply any outstanding commitments on regional protocols on free movement.
Prioritise reciprocity as a stepping stone: Countries should identify which countries within the region and beyond offer their citizens visa-free entry, and consider reciprocating.
Accelerate regional free movement: Members of RECs with high levels of cooperation should prioritise scrapping all forms of visas ahead of travel pertaining to casual, short-term visits.