(ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA) — The African Development Bank Group and the African Union renewed their push for visa-free travel across Africa through a high-level symposium held on the sidelines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa, arguing that easier movement is a prerequisite for faster economic transformation.
Officials and regional leaders used the Addis Ababa meeting to link mobility reforms to expanded intra-African trade, greater labor mobility and deeper implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, often referred to as AfCFTA.
The renewed effort puts cross-border movement back near the top of the summit agenda, with institutions framing visa reform as an enabling step for trade and integration rather than a stand-alone migration issue.
The symposium came as the AU and its partners press member states to translate political commitments on integration into legal and administrative changes that travelers and businesses can feel at borders.
Visa rules still change country by country, even when continental initiatives gain attention and summit statements signal momentum, leaving governments to balance national systems with regional goals.
Against that backdrop, the AU Protocol on Free Movement of Persons adopted in 2018 remains the central legal instrument for a continent-wide approach, with supporters urging faster progress toward it taking effect.
A small number of states have moved ahead, while many others have focused on narrower visa facilitation steps that stop short of continent-wide reciprocity.
Ratification and openness indicators underscore the gap between aspiration and implementation: only four countries—Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe—have ratified the 2018 protocol, short of the 15 ratifications needed for it to enter into force; the 2025 Africa Visa Openness Index put visa-free travel at 28.2% of intra-African routes, up from 20% in 2016 and 22% in 2016 per earlier reports; and in 2024, 48 out of 54 AU member states offered visa-free entry to citizens of at least one other African country, unchanged from 2023.
Even with that broader pattern of partial access, the symposium message stressed that uneven reciprocity and differing administrative practices continue to limit how far businesses and workers can move across multiple markets without added cost and delay.
Elias Magosi, SADC Executive Secretary, tied the debate directly to development strategy at the AfDB symposium, saying: “A visa-free Africa is an economic multiplier,” and linking mobility to trade, investment, value chains, and Agenda 2063.
AU Commission leadership also framed the free movement protocol as a cornerstone for deeper integration, with H.E. Amb. Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, using the foreword of the 2025 index to urge faster action: “I. call on all Member States to accelerate the ratification of the AU Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons,” calling it a “transformative solution to advancing mobility, deepening integration and strengthening our collective economic resilience.”
Other officials have argued that policy intent has to translate into smoother border processes, with Minata Samaté Cessouma, former AU Commissioner, saying trade growth depends on “smooth movement of people across African borders, without excessive bureaucratic obstacles.”
National leaders have promoted visa regime improvements as part of economic plans, with Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, emphasizing improving visa regimes for economic growth, and Jack Mwiimbu, Zambian Minister of the Interior, highlighting faster visa access for tourism, trade, and jobs.
Backers of visa-free travel have also presented the initiative as part of a wider integration agenda under Agenda 2063, aligning it with Agenda 2063 Aspirations 2 and 5 on political unity, pan-African identity, and removing barriers to travel, work, and residence.
AfDB, AU and allied experts have argued that reducing friction for legitimate travel supports AfCFTA implementation by making it easier for companies to send staff across borders, develop regional supply chains, and expand services trade alongside goods trade.
Beyond commerce, they have pointed to expected gains that include tourism growth, skills transfer, investment and stronger border management, while acknowledging that mobility reforms intersect with rule-of-law capacity at borders and public health coordination.
Policymakers and advisers at the symposium also leaned toward step-by-step implementation pathways, emphasizing regional economic communities as practical platforms for movement, and calling for reciprocity to make access more predictable across neighboring states.
The recommendations promoted include prioritizing REC protocols, reciprocity and e-visas over visa-on-arrival, alongside proposals for regional visas for non-members and targeted advocacy campaigns aimed at building domestic support for reforms.
Experts have also advocated pilots designed for scaling, including skills recognition, special economic zones and harmonized policies that can be expanded across regions, with Amanda Bisong arguing for piloting AfCFTA provisions for professionals and business persons.
Institutionally, the AU’s Department of Political Affairs leads efforts on mobility, while the African Passport remains a flagship project intended to symbolize longer-term integration, even as leaders acknowledge that wider ratification, administrative alignment and digital systems would need to advance before visa-free travel becomes a broadly felt reality for most Africans.
African Development Bank Group and African Union Renew Push for Visa-Free Travel
The African Union and African Development Bank are advocating for visa-free travel to bolster the African Continental Free Trade Area. During a symposium in Ethiopia, officials linked mobility to economic resilience and industrial growth. However, implementation lags as only four nations have ratified the necessary protocols. Recommendations include adopting e-visas, regional reciprocity, and pilot programs for professionals to bridge the gap between policy and reality.
