Monday, January 21, 2019

African Country Visa Policy for Other Africans

Each year the African Development Bank publishes the Visa Openness Index, which documents the visa policy of African countries when it comes to allowing visitors from another African country. The index demonstrates at a glance which countries are facilitating travel for citizens of other African countries and whether they allow people to travel to their country without a visa, if travelers can get a visa on arrival in the country or if visitors need to get a visa before travel. When the website opens, go to "Rankings."

In 2018, the most open countries were Seychelles and Benin, which allowed citizens from all other 53 African countries to enter without a visa. Rwanda, Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Mauritania permitted nationals of some countries to enter without a visa and all others to obtain a visa on arrival. The Comoros, Djibouti, Madagascar, and Somalia allowed Africans from every country to obtain a visa on arrival. Uganda, Ghana, and Cape Verde allowed the nationals of all but one country to enter without a visa or to obtain one upon arrival. The most restrictive countries were Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Libya, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.