African Union set to introduce single passport for Africans

The initiative will greatly improve and increase intra-African trade.

Africa’s leaders are working on a plan to turn the continent into one of “seamless borders” with the introduction of a single passport to allow free movement of people, goods and services between countries.

The plan is to be modeled on the European Union (EU) Schengen free movement initiative, which abolished passport and any other type of border control at their mutual borders.

The African Union (AU), which represents 54 African states, wants to abolish the need for Africans visiting African counties to require a visa by 2018 and to establish a free trade across the continent by 2017. At present, intra-African trade costs more than any other region – this new initiative by the AU intends to address this problem.

When heads of state from across the continent arrive in Kigali, Rwanda next month for the AU Summit, they will be among the first Africans issued the new electronic African Union passport. The passport is meant to make travel on the continent much easier for Africans.

“The scene seems to be set to realize the dream of visa-free travel for African citizens within their own continent by 2020,” the AU said in a statement announcing the launch.

Travel in Africa is difficult for most Africans. They are required to have visas for over half of the countries on the continent. Only 13 African countries allow other Africans to enter without a visa or give visas on arrival. In contrast, Americans can travel to 20 African countries without visas or with visas on arrival. African travelers say they feel the same suspicion at immigration counters within the continent as they do outside of it.

The out-going chairperson of the AU Commission, Nkosazna Dlaimini Zuma, said the initiative is a “steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa, driven by its own citizens”.

“It is up to all of us to hold our countries to that decision so that indeed Africans can move freely among other African countries”, she added.