African Union plans to launch visa-free passport valid across all Africa

The African Union plans to launch an electronic passport at the upcoming AU Summit scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda next month.

This flagship project, first agreed upon in 2014 aims at facilitating free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent.

AU Commission’s Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has described this initiative as both symbolic and significant, calling it a “steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa, driven by its own citizens and capable of taking its rightful place on the world stage.”

Aspirations 2 and 7 of Agenda 2063, respectively, envision an Africa that is ‘integrated’ and ‘united’, and the introduction of the Common African Passport as an effort towards realizing integration and unity on the continent.

The first group of beneficiaries will include: AU Heads of State and Government; Ministers of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Representatives of AU Member States based at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The AU e-Passports will be issued to them in July 2016, at the 27th AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. In order for all the recipients to acquire the passports, they are strongly encouraged to comply with the needed paper work required to accelerate the processing lead time.

CCTV