The Republic of the Congo will scrap visa requirements for all African travellers from January 1, 2027, President Denis Sassou Nguesso announced during Africa Day celebrations on May 25 in Brazzaville, the country’s capital.
Nguesso described the measure as a strategic step toward strengthening African unity, boosting intra-African trade and accelerating economic cooperation, urging African countries to move beyond “narrow nationalism” and focus on collective development priorities including transport connectivity, infrastructure and energy access.
The move puts Congo among a growing number of African countries opening their borders. Burundi has taken similar steps, though its policy currently applies mainly to East African Community member states.
However, official immigration frameworks indicate that Burundi does not yet operate a blanket visa-free regime for all African nationals. Its policy remains largely regionally focused, offering more flexible entry arrangements primarily to citizens of East African Community member states, while many other African travellers still rely on visas-on-arrival or standard visa procedures depending on the purpose of travel.
Burundi is aligning itself with Africa’s broader push toward connectivity, trade and tourism growth. The move has been widely viewed as part of the continent’s wider effort to reduce long-standing travel barriers that have historically limited business, tourism and labour mobility within Africa.
Aside from Congo and Burundi, countries including Rwanda, Benin, Seychelles, The Gambia, Ghana and Togo have all introduced visa-free policies or eased travel restrictions for African travellers in recent years.
Togo eliminated visa requirements for all African nationals on May 18, 2026, while Ghana launched a modernised electronic visa system on May 25, offering free e-visas to continental travellers.
According to the Africa Visa Openness Index, nearly 28.2% of intra-African travel routes are now completely visa-free — up from 20% in 2016 — while the number of countries deploying accessible e-visa systems has tripled over the last decade.
The broader trend aligns closely with the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to improve the movement of goods, services, capital and people across the continent. According to the African Development Bank and the African Union, Africans still face some of the world’s highest intra-regional travel barriers despite growing calls for deeper economic integration.
Policymakers increasingly argue that restrictive travel systems continue to slow trade, tourism, investment and business expansion across Africa at a time when the continent is pushing toward a more interconnected economic future.
The growing competition among African states to position themselves as regional business and mobility hubs is also driving the rapid pace of visa reforms — with governments hoping to attract greater investment, encourage tourism and strengthen cross-border commerce.
