The latest Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) reveals that Africa has not abandoned its dream of a visa-free continent, but the journey just became more complicated. According to the 2025 AVOI, the continent continues to make progress in opening its borders; however, that progress is being offset by countries introducing digital travel authorisations that still require approval before departure.
Of the 54 countries assessed, only 11 improved their visa openness scores, while nine recorded declines following changes to their visa policies. Thirty-four countries made no policy changes at all. Rwanda and The Gambia retained their positions as Africa’s most visa-open countries, while Kenya climbed to third after removing Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) requirements for citizens of 52 African countries, replacing it with visa-free access. Benin, however, slipped from first to fourth after introducing visa requirements for citizens of five African countries. At the bottom of the ranking are Western Sahara, Sudan, Libya, South Sudan, and, surprisingly, Seychelles, stumbling from second position in 2024 to 53rd place in 2025 after introducing ETA.
Visa Openness Index tracks how easily African citizens can travel across the continent. Countries receive the higher scores when they allow fellow Africans to enter without a visa, slightly lower scores when visas are issued on arrival, and zero points when travellers must secure a visa before departure. Although electronic visas simplify applications, the Index still classifies them as visas because travellers must obtain approval before travelling.
Since 2016, the AVOI has monitored changes in visa policies using data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), allowing governments to track progress toward freer movement across Africa and supporting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Data for the 2025 edition was collected in July and August 2025.
Over the past decade, 39 African countries have improved their visa openness scores, demonstrating that the continent has become substantially more accessible than it was in 2016. Visa-free travel now accounts for 28.2 percent of all intra-African travel scenarios, compared with just 20 percent when the Index was first published, marking a 40 percent improvement over ten years. Benin rose from 31st place in 2016 to become one of Africa’s visa liberalised destinations, while The Gambia, Rwanda and Kenya have all emerged as continental leaders in recent years.
Yet the 2025 report identifies a worrying reversal beneath these encouraging long-term gains. For the first time in several years, visa-required travel has increased significantly. Africans now require visas before travelling in 51 percent of all intra-African travel scenarios, compared with 47 percent in 2024. At the same time, visa-on-arrival arrangements have fallen sharply from nearly one-quarter of travel routes to just 20 percent, the lowest level since the Index began. This suggests that, despite progress made over the past decade, many African countries are becoming more restrictive in their entry policies.
The report attributes this decline not to stricter immigration controls in the traditional sense, but to governments replacing visa-on-arrival systems with electronic visas and ETA. While these digital systems offer convenience and improve border management, they still require travellers to seek approval before departure, the applications are still subject to approval or rejection, making spontaneous travel more difficult and reducing countries’ openness scores.
This shift is evident in countries such as Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria and Somalia, all of which replaced broad visa-on-arrival policies with visa requirements before travel during 2025. Collectively, these policy changes affected 162 travel routes across Africa and pushed the four countries into the lower half of the continental rankings. The report argues that digitalisation should not be mistaken for greater openness because travellers still face administrative barriers before departure.
Nigeria illustrates this contradiction. While its transition to an e-visa system modernises immigration procedures, it also weakens its visa openness score. The country slipped from 6th position to 32nd position in 2025. The report nevertheless notes that e-visas can serve as an important stepping stone toward more liberal visa policies if governments eventually move beyond digital visas to genuine visa-free travel.
Kenya, meanwhile, offers the year’s strongest example of policy correction. After dropping sharply to 46th place in the 2024 rankings because its ETA system was classified as an electronic visa, Nairobi exempted almost all African citizens from the ETA requirement. The move propelled Kenya to third place, reinforcing its position as one of Africa’s leading gateways for regional trade, transport and investment.
The rapid spread of digital visa systems also defines the 2025 report. Thirty-one African countries, representing 57 percent of the continent, now operate e-visa platforms, up from 26 countries last year and only nine in 2016. The Index recognises that electronic visas improve efficiency, reduce paperwork and strengthen security screening. However, it warns that poorly designed digital systems can introduce new obstacles, including internet access challenges, processing delays, fraud risks and additional costs for travellers.
Analysts say the tenth edition of the AVOI delivers a mixed verdict. Africa is considerably more open than it was a decade ago, and the continent has never recorded more visa-free travel than it does today. But the latest findings also demonstrate that digital innovation alone cannot achieve the African Union’s vision of free movement. Unless governments ensure that technology complements rather than replaces visa liberalisation, Africa risks exchanging physical borders for digital ones.
“If I were to describe the dynamic on visa free mobility over the 10 years of production of the Africa Visa Openness Index, I would say, full of promise but in need of accelerated action,” said Dr. Joy Kategekwa, Director of Regional Integration Coordination Office African Development Bank Group.
