Moving across Africa has never been easier than now according to the 2019 Africa Visa Openness Index published by the African Union Commission in conjunction with the African Development Bank. This is some good news for African startups looking to expand across African countries as well as migrants within Africa.
“Our work on the Africa Visa Openness Index continues to monitor how Africa is doing on free movement of people. Progress is being made but much still needs to be done. To integrate Africa, we should bring down the walls. The free movement of people, and especially labour mobility, are crucial for promoting investments,” African Development Bank President Akinwumi A. Adesina said.
Here Is All You Need To Know
- For the first time, African travellers have liberal access to over half the continent, the 2019 Africa Visa Openness Index published by the African Union Commission and African Developmen tBank, reveals.
- The report was launched on Monday on the sidelines of the AfricaInvestmentForum, which opened in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica.
- This fourth edition of the Index shows that 47 countries improved or maintained their visa openness scores in 2019.
- African visitors no longer need a visa to travel to a quarter of other African countries, whereas visa-free travel was only possible to a fifth of the continent in 2016.
- Currently, 21 African countries also offer eVisas to make travel more accessible, up from up from 16 in 2018, 13 in 2017, and 9 in 2016).
- The 2019 top performers on visa openness rank among the top countries for foreign direct investment in Africa, and benefit from strong levels of growth, including in tourism.
- According to the report, Seychelles and Benin remain the top-performing countries, offering visa-free access to over 50 Africans countries while Ghana and Ethiopia moved up a couple of places to enter the top 20 list.
From the report, the under-listed are the top 20 visa open countries in Africa:
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Seychelles — visa free (53)
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Benin — visa free (53)
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Senegal — visa free (22), visa on arrival (31)
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Rwanda — visa free (17), visa on arrival (36), visa required (1)
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Ghana — visa free (18), visa on arrival (34), visa required (1)
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Uganda — visa free (18), visa on arrival (34), visa required (1)
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Guinea Bissau — visa free (14), visa on arrival (39)
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Cabo Verde — visa free (16), visa on arrival (36), visa required (1)
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Togo — visa free (14), visa on arrival (38), visa required (1)
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Mauritania — visa free (9), visa on arrival (44)
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Mozambique — visa free (9), visa on arrival (44)
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Mauritius visa free — (27), visa on arrival (21), visa required (5)
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Kenya — visa free (18), visa on arrival (32), visa required (3)
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Comoros — visa free (0), visa on arrival (53)
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Madagascar — visa free (0), visa on arrival (53)
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Somalia — visa free (0), visa on arrival (53)
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Djibouti — visa free (0), visa on arrival (52), visa required (1)
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Ethiopia — visa free (2), visa on arrival (49), visa required (2)
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Tanzania — visa free (16), visa on arrival (25), visa required (12)
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Gambia — visa free (28), visa on arrival (0), visa required (2
The Need For Others To Loosen Up
For the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahama, the role of integration for the development of the continent and the fulfilment of its people’s aspiration to well-being cannot be overemphasized.
‘‘I congratulate those member states that have taken measures to ease the procedures for the entry of African nationals into their territories,’’ he said, ‘‘and urge those that have not yet done so to join this growing momentum.”
To that effect, the report recommends that African countries need to make more progress on visa regimes, including introducing visas-on-arrival.
By breaking down borders, Africa will be able to capitalize on gains from regional integration initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Single African Air Transport Market, and the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, it says.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world