How e-visas are advancing Africa’s vision of free movement and trade

The index is an annual ranking measuring the extent to which each country in Africa is open to visitors from other African countries. It is prepared collaboratively by the African Development Bank Group and the African Union.

The number of countries offering e-visas has risen from 9 in 2016 to 26 in the latest edition. According to experts, this growing trend can break cross-border barriers by simplifying travel processes and thus can support economic growth under frameworks like the AfCFTA.

“E-visas are one step towards achievement of regional integration and free movement (of people)... without free movement of people, there is no free movement of goods,” Tanatsiwa Dambuza, a Zimbabwean researcher and Trade Knowledge Management Expert explained in an interview.

While Dambuza sees e-visas as a step in the right direction, he believes the ultimate goal should be a visa-free continent for all African countries.

“It is a significant move, but also, the adoption of e-visas shows the reluctance of African countries in adopting a visa-free continent… e-visas are being introduced in the wake of treaties such as the protocol of free movement of people,” he added.

The main advantage of an e-visa over a traditional visa is its convenience. It can be applied for online from anywhere — home, office, or on the go — without having to visit an embassy or surrender a passport, saving time, and money, and eliminating the risks of being without a passport.

The adoption of e-visas has positively impacted countries' openness over the period 2016 to 2024, according to the report.

For the e-visa regime to be sustained and escalated, experts believe there is the need to work on the countries’ digital infrastructure and upgrade the security systems of the e-visa portals.

“One challenge, however, is security. When accessing online visa platforms, some may not be encrypted, putting personal data at risk. This issue is especially concerning in public spaces like airports, where unsecured Wi-Fi networks could expose sensitive information.”

Dambuza asserted that the top-ranked countries in the index owe their success to political will. With the right political environment, he believes, visa openness in Africa could see significant growth.

“We have seen Burundi, Seychelles, and more recently Rwanda where President Kagame just announced in a conference the openness of the country’s borders… It is possible for such decisions to be replicated in other countries that are seemingly difficult to access,” he explained.

Overall, in 2024, Benin, The Gambia, Rwanda, and the Seychelles occupied leading positions on the rankings this year. Notably, 16 of the top 20 ranked countries are evenly split between West and East Africa, with eight from each region.

Eighteen of the top 20 countries on the AVOI are classified as lower-middle-income or low-income, indicating that these nations are often more open to liberal visa policies.

Also, the report takes note of Sierra Leone and Angola which have made remarkable strides in improving their AVOI scores in the past year. Sierra Leone now grants visa-free access to citizens of 15 countries, up from 13 in 2023.

“Angola has added nine countries to its list of citizens who qualify for visa-free access, almost doubling the number of countries whose citizens previously qualified for the same (2023: 10),” the authors explain.

Angola offers faster approvals both at consular offices and through its e-visa portal, with a guaranteed processing time of under three working days. Other top improvers in the 2024 edition include the Central African Republic, Malawi, Guinea, South Africa, Libya, Cabo Verde, Tunisia, Uganda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Eritrea, Namibia and Tanzania. (bird story agency)

At the regional economic bloc level, ECOWAS leads the region in visa openness, with 99% of its countries offering visa-free entry (for Africans). The 1979 Protocol on Free Movement of Persons ensures visa-free travel and near-perfect reciprocity among member states. Other blocs follow as follows: The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU); 70%, SADC; 60%, and EAC; 54%, among others.

“Apart from the fact that you need connectivity, you also need to have freedom for people to move from one place to the other. I believe we cannot say we have borderless trade when we put up barriers for people to travel,” Akinwumi Adesina, the President, of the African Development Bank Group, said in the report.