African policymakers and development institutions are renewing their call for visa-free travel across the continent, recognizing the free movement of people as essential to unlocking economic transformation under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The move arose from a high-level symposium co-hosted by the African Development Bank Group and the African Union Commission on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, where participants argued that restrictive visa regimes remain a major impediment to intra-African trade, growth in services, investment, tourism and labor mobility.
According to the AfDB, only five African countries (Seychelles, Mozambique, Rwanda, Comoros, and Madagascar) offer visa-free entry or visas on arrival to all African nationals. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, and Sudan require African nationals to apply for visas. On average, African nationals require a visa to visit 60% of African countries, ranging from a high of 84% in Somalia to a low of 41% in Gambia.
Addressing this challenge, African Development Bank Group East Africa Director Alex Mubiru said visa-free travel, interoperable digital systems and integrated markets are real enablers for enterprise, innovation and regional value chains that can translate policy ambitions into economic activity.
“The evidence is clear: the economy supports openness. The human story demands it,” he told participants, calling on countries to move from incremental reforms to “transformational change.”
Amma Tum Amoah, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union Commission, called for rapid implementation of the existing continental framework, saying visa opening is a strategic measure to deepen regional markets and strengthen collective responses to economic and humanitarian crises.
Former AU Commission Chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma reiterated that free movement is central to the African Union’s long-term development blueprint, Agenda 2063.
“If we recognize that we are African, we should be able to move freely across the African continent,” she said, urging member states to operationalize initiatives such as the African Passport and the Free Movement of Persons Protocol.
Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, shared her country’s experience of being an early adopter of an open visa policy for African travelers, citing increased business travel, tourism and investor interest as early benefits of increased openness.
The symposium also reviewed the latest African Visa Openness Index findings. According to the index, more than half of all trips within Africa still require a visa before departure, a situation that participants see as a major drag on trade within the continent.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Bekele said air connectivity and visa liberalization must go hand in hand to enable seamless travel, calling for the full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market. Regional representatives, including Elias Magosi, Executive Director of the Southern African Development Community, emphasized the importance of building trust through border management and digital information sharing systems.
African Prosperity Network executive chairman Gabby Darko called on governments to support the Make Africa Borderless Now campaign, while tourism activist Ras Mubarak called for further ratification of the AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol. Participants concluded that achieving visa-free Africa requires sustained political commitment, as well as coordination of migration policies, digital ID systems, and border infrastructure.
In a symbolic gesture, participants signed the “Passport Wall” to show support for accelerated reforms to ease the movement of citizens across Africa’s borders.
Meanwhile, the AfDB Group and the African Union Commission said they will continue to work with member states and regional bodies to promote a collaborative approach to mobility, which is seen as fundamental to Africa’s integration, competitiveness and long-term growth.
