Ghana Approves Visa-Free Entry for All Africans Starting 2025

Oluwasegun SanusiDecember 28, 20241 Mins read1.2k

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Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has approved visa-free entry for citizens of all African nations, beginning in 2025. This policy makes Ghana the 5th country to issue such policy, after the likes of Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia, and Benin, had adopted same measure to promote intra-African mobility and integration.

The decision, announced on Wednesday, December 25, fulfills a pledge made by Akufo-Addo during the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD 2024) held in January. At the event, the president stressed the importance of fostering free movement across African borders as a pillar of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA aims to establish a unified market, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and reducing poverty across the continent.

In a related move to promote tourism and strengthen ties with the African diaspora, the Ghana Tourism Authority also launched a temporary visa-free entry policy. This initiative, which runs from December 1, 2024, to January 15, 2025, aligns with the government’s ‘Beyond the Return’ campaign, a decade-long strategy to boost tourism and deepen diaspora connections.

The visa waiver coincides with the “December in GH 2024” festivities, a celebration designed to attract both the African diaspora and Ghanaians living abroad.

It will be recalled that West Africa emerged as a dominant region in facilitating easy entry for African travellers, according to the latest Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) report.

The report showed that eight of the top 20 countries offering the most liberal visa policies are located in West Africa. This includes Benin, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.