Although regional integration efforts on the continent, such as the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are designed to promote free movement, challenges like visa requirements across African nations continue to impede this progress.
The African Visa Openness Index
The African Visa Openness Index (AVOI) evaluates how accessible African countries are to visitors from within the continent.
It examines visa requirements to identify which nations make travel to their territories the easiest for other Africans.
The AVOI report highlights that the continued requirement for Africans to obtain visas to enter other African countries represents one of the most notable contradictions to the continent’s regional integration ambitions.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB) the free movement of people is crucial for regional integration and supports the African Union’s vision of creating the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the world’s largest single market.
“Africa will not meet its development aspirations in the absence of regimes that promote mobility across the continent.” AfDB’s Director, Regional Integration Coordination Office, Dr. Joy Kategekwa noted.
To promote free trade and development across the continent, some countries have achieved high scores in the 2024 African Visa Openness Index by opening their borders to other African nations.
While many have implemented a no-visa policy, which is highly encouraging, others have simplified travel further by introducing visa-on-arrival policies for a large number of African travelers.
A visa-on-arrival allows travelers to obtain a visa upon entering the destination country, eliminating the need to apply beforehand.
The table below shows the top 10 African countries that have visa-on-arrival policy for the highest number of African travelers;
| Rank | Country | Visa on Arrival (Countries) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Djibouti |
53 |
|
2 |
Comoros |
53 |
|
3 |
Madagascar |
52 |
|
4 |
Somalia |
52 |
|
5 |
Burundi |
47 |
|
6 |
Ethiopia |
46 |
|
7 |
Mauritania |
45 |
|
8 |
Guinea-Bissau |
40 |
|
9 |
Mazambique |
39 |
|
10 |
Nigeria |
36 |
The table shows that Djibouti and Comoros lead the ranking, each offering a visa-on-arrival policy for 53 nations, followed by Madagascar and Somalia, which provide this option for 52 nations each.
The report adds that 27 countries currently offer visa-on-arrival to citizens of at least one other African country (down from 30 in 2023).
Burkina Faso, Togo, and Chad discontinued their visa-on-arrival options, with the latter two adopting an e-visa system instead.
Also, 12 countries offer visa-on-arrival to citizens of at least 35 other African nations, demonstrating a strong commitment to facilitating regional mobility and promoting easier travel across the continent.
