The President of Kenya, William Ruto, announced that all African visitors will no longer need visas to enter the country by the year’s end.
The move has received widespread applause as Kenya follows in the footsteps of Seychelles, The Gambia, and Benin, becoming the fourth African country to abandon visa requirements for African nationals.
The African Union (AU) has pursued the goal of enabling unrestricted travel for Africans within the continent for the past decade.
However, as outlined by the Africa Visa Openness Index, which evaluates the degree to which each African country welcomes visitors from other African nations, most countries are taking steps to streamline entry processes and remove restrictions for certain countries.
Kenya was ranked 31st on the index out of 54 states in 2022, with Ruto highlighting to an audience in Congo-Brazzaville that visa restrictions were detrimental to business in Africa.
‘When people cannot travel, businesspeople cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel, we all become net losers.’
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‘Let me say this, As Kenya, by the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya,” he said to loud cheers from the conference delegates.’
‘Our children from this continent should not be locked in borders in Europe and also be locked in borders in Africa.’
Speaking at an international conference recently, Ruto said, ‘It is time we…realise that having visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us.’
The address took place at a summit with the objective of preserving some of the world’s most extensive rainforests.
The African Union (AU) rolled out the African passport in 2016 to facilitate visa-free travel for all African citizens throughout the continent, but its widespread distribution remains a challenge.
This arises partly due to apprehensions surrounding security, illicit trade, and the potential repercussions on regional job opportunities.
Given the current circumstances, a complete removal of all visa restrictions seems overly ambitious, according to the suggestions in the Visa Openness Index report. Instead, it proposes several other steps, such as reducing fees, standardizing visa-on-arrival policies for African tourists, and introducing a secure e-visa mechanism.