African policymakers and development institutions have renewed calls for visa-free travel across the continent, positioning free movement of people as essential to unlocking economic transformation under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The push emerged from a high-level symposium co-convened by the African Development Bank Group and the African Union Commission on the margins of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, where participants argued that restrictive visa regimes remain a major obstacle to intra-African trade, services growth, investment, tourism, and labour mobility.
According to the AfDB, only five African countries (Seychelles, Mozambique, Rwanda, Comoros and Madagascar) offer visa-free access or visas on arrival to citizens of all African countries. On the other hand, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé, and Sudan require citizens from every single African country to apply for a visa. On average, African citizens require visas to visit 60 per cent of African countries, ranging from a high of 84 per cent for Somalia to a low of 41 per cent for The Gambia.
Speaking on the challenge, the Director-General for Eastern Africa at the African Development Bank Group, Alex Mubiru, said that visa-free travel, interoperable digital systems, and integrated markets are practical enablers of enterprise, innovation, and regional value chains to translate policy ambitions into economic activity.
“The evidence is clear. The economics support openness. The human story demands it,” he told participants, urging countries to move from incremental reforms to “transformative change”.
The Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development at the African Union Commission, Amma Twum-Amoah, called for faster implementation of existing continental frameworks, describing visa openness as a strategic lever for deepening regional markets and enhancing collective responses to economic and humanitarian crises.
Former AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma reiterated that free movement is central to the African Union’s long-term development blueprint, Agenda 2063.
“If we accept that we are Africans, then we must be able to move freely across our continent,” she said, urging member states to operationalise initiatives such as the African Passport and the Free Movement of Persons Protocol.
Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, shared her country’s experience as an early adopter of open visa policies for African travellers, citing increased business travel, tourism, and investor interest as early dividends of greater openness.
The symposium also reviewed findings from the latest Africa Visa Openness Index, which shows that more than half of intra-African travel still requires visas before departure, a situation seen by participants as a significant drag on intra-continental commerce.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Mesfin Bekele, called for full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market, saying aviation connectivity and visa liberalisation must advance together to enable seamless travel. Regional representatives, including Elias Magosi, Executive Secretary of the Southern Africa Development Community, emphasised the importance of building trust through border management and digital information-sharing systems.
Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network, Gabby Darko, urged governments to support the ‘Make Africa Borderless Now’ campaign, while tourism campaigner Ras Mubarak called for more ratifications of the AU Free Movement of Persons protocol. Participants concluded that achieving a visa-free Africa will require aligning migration policies, digital identity systems, and border infrastructure, alongside sustained political commitment.
In a symbolic gesture, attendees signed a ‘passport wall’, signalling support for accelerated reforms to make movement across African borders easier for citizens.
Meanwhile, the AfDB Group and the African Union Commission said they will continue working with member states and regional bodies to advance coordinated approaches to mobility, seen as a cornerstone of Africa’s integration, competitiveness, and long-term growth.
