For years, African leaders have spoken about the goal of making travel across the continent easier. It’s been a regular topic at regional summits and a core part of ambitious policy frameworks. But for most ordinary Africans, the reality doesn’t match the rhetoric. Travelling between African countries is often harder than flying to Europe or North America.
Even with lofty declarations of unity and integration, many Africans still face more friction crossing borders within their own continent than flying to distant lands overseas. Airports and border posts across Africa remain fragmented symbols of division, where African passports invite scrutiny, delays, and fees rather than a sense of belonging. Despite a vision enshrined in Agenda 2063 and the promises of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African passport and visa-free travel remain more symbolic than practical.
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In 2024, the Africa Visa Openness Index reminds us just how far the continent has yet to go. While there has been progress since the index was first published in 2016, the pace has slowed. The report, jointly released by the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank, revealed that only 17 African countries made improvements in their visa policies over the past year. Meanwhile, 29 countries registered no change, and 8 countries introduced new restrictions. As a result, the overall visa openness score slightly regressed to 0.479 from 0.485 in 2023, reverting to levels last seen in 2022.
Although 39 African nations have made cumulative improvements since the first index in 2016, true continental mobility remains a distant goal. As of 2024, only three countries, Benin, Gambia, and Seychelles, offer visa-free entry to all African nationals, while 17 countries allow visa-free entry to at least 30 African countries, including Rwanda, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, and Mozambique. In contrast, eight countries, such as Libya, Equatorial Guinea, and Sudan, have regressed, reinstating stricter entry rules for African travellers. This patchwork of policies underscores the continent’s uneven progress, where regional champions coexist with nations still reluctant to open their borders even to their neighbours.
What Is Causing the Delay?
At the heart of the sluggish progress lies a complex entanglement of security fears, sovereignty concerns, weak policy enforcement, and uneven political will. Many African governments remain apprehensive about relinquishing control over border management, particularly in regions affected by terrorism, political instability, and transnational crime. Countries like Libya, Mali, and parts of the Sahel belt struggle with security threats that make open borders politically sensitive.
Administrative bottlenecks also persist. Many African countries lack digital visa systems or the infrastructure to manage high volumes of travellers effectively. While the African Union introduced the African Passport in 2016 with the intention of fostering freedom of movement, the rollout has been slow, and its issuance is still largely restricted to AU officials and diplomats.
Political will is another significant barrier. The AU’s Free Movement Protocol, adopted in 2018 as a legal framework to support the free movement of persons, the right of residence, and the right of establishment, has been ratified by only four countries as of 2024: Rwanda, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Mali. This low uptake reflects hesitation by member states to commit to binding frameworks that could challenge their national immigration regimes.
Why Is It Important?
The importance of visa-free travel in Africa transcends tourism or convenience; it is intrinsically linked to the continent’s integration, economic prosperity, and long-term stability. Without the ability of its people to move freely, Africa cannot truly unite, neither socially, politically, nor economically.
According to the African Development Bank, free movement would facilitate not just trade, but also cross-border investments, labour mobility, cultural exchange, and innovation. More critically, it would foster a stronger sense of African identity and cooperation, bridging long-standing linguistic, geographic, and colonial divides.
In the broader developmental context, the movement of skilled labour and entrepreneurs could energise underdeveloped regions and alleviate economic disparities between nations. Moreover, amid increasing external geopolitical pressures and dependency on global supply chains, internal integration offers Africa a pathway to self-sufficiency and resilience.
The Trade Importance of Free Movement
Trade cannot flourish in a vacuum. As the AfCFTA, the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries, continues its rollout, the success of its ambitious agenda hinges on the free movement of people. Goods need traders, investors need access, and services often require physical presence. Without visa-free access, these activities are either slowed down or rendered impossible.
Intra-African trade currently accounts for only about 15% of the continent’s total trade volume, a stark contrast to the European Union’s 68% internal trade ratio. This low figure is not solely due to tariffs or infrastructure deficits; it is also a consequence of cumbersome travel policies that deter regional business and limit access to markets.
Kenya and Rwanda offer illustrative examples. Rwanda’s 2023 decision to open its borders to all Africans and Kenya’s subsequent move to eliminate visa requirements for Africans by the end of that year reflect a recognition of the trade-enhancing benefits of mobility. These policies are not merely symbolic; they translate to increased tourism, faster investment flows, and the growth of small and medium enterprises that depend on ease of movement.
According to the World Bank, full implementation of AfCFTA, including the Protocol on Free Movement, could lift 50 million people out of extreme poverty and raise incomes across the continent by 9% by 2035. The trade volume in Africa could increase by nearly $450 billion, underscoring the role of human movement in unleashing economic potential.
Why Africa Must Prioritise Visa-Free Protocol
It is not enough for a few countries to make policy changes in isolation. What Africa needs is a coordinated, legally binding, and well-implemented framework that harmonises visa policies and sets clear expectations. The Free Movement Protocol, although visionary, remains under-utilised. If it is to become more than a piece of paper, AU member states must elevate it from a political aspiration to a functional reality.
This means not just ratifying the protocol but aligning national immigration policies with its principles, investing in digital border systems, and building trust among governments through information-sharing and security cooperation. Countries must stop viewing open borders as a loss of control and instead see them as a gateway to shared prosperity.
Frameworks also offer the added advantage of accountability. Unlike isolated national policies, a continental framework offers structured reporting, peer review, and measurable targets. With frameworks in place, regional economic communities such as ECOWAS and SADC can ensure compliance, address concerns, and facilitate gradual but steady mobility liberalisation.
Moreover, integrating free movement into the AfCFTA’s operational mechanisms would reinforce its centrality to the continent’s development agenda. It would demonstrate that Africa is not only trading with itself but also trusting and valuing its people as agents of transformation.
From Vision to Action
The dream of a visa-free Africa is neither utopian nor unattainable. It is a strategic necessity for a continent that seeks to thrive through integration. While the path has been slow and uneven, recent commitments from countries like Rwanda and Kenya reveal that the dream is not dead; it is awakening.
Africa must now decide whether visa-free travel remains a ceremonial ideal discussed at AU summits or a transformative policy anchored in legal frameworks and political commitment. The continent cannot afford to wait any longer. A new Africa is possible, one where borders exist for coordination, not confinement; for cooperation, not control.
It is time to move from paper to pavement, from vision to action, and from dreaming of a united Africa to building one, border by border.
