Africa: Ghana ranks 4th in Visa Openness Index; behind Benin, Seychelles and Gambia
Ghana ranks fourth in the Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) Report put together by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Union (AU).
Ghana, in its ranking, trails behind Benin, Seychelles and The Gambia – all three countries ranked number one having the same score of 1.00.
Per the AVOI report, Ghana had a score of 0.88.
Visa openness refers to the ease with which visitors are authorized to enter their country of destination.
A visa-open country has a liberal or relaxed visa policy for visitors, meaning that visitors either do not need a
visa to enter its territory or can obtain a visa upon arrival.
The 2021 edition of the AVOI noted several countries back-sliding on their ranking from the previous year. Countries were dealing with global uncertainty around the pandemic’s impacts on health and the economy,
and many governments restricted travel. Some also changed their visa regime.
This year has however, seen several positive developments as ten countries improved their score on visa openness, and 40 maintained their score.
Only four countries recorded a decrease. The continent’s aggregate score improved by 8%, compensating for last year’s downturn.
Visa-free travel
Per the report, 48 countries out of 54—the vast majority of African countries— now offer visa-free travel to the nationals of at least one other African country.
42 countries offer visa-free travel to the nationals of at least 5 other African countries and 3 African countries offer visa-free travel to the citizens of other African countries.
Adding that, for 27% of intra-Africa travel, African citizens don’t need a visa.
Visas on arrival
29 countries—more than half of the continent—, the report noted, now offer a visa on arrival to the nationals of at least one other African country.
24 countries offer a visa on arrival to the nationals of 5 or more countries and 14 countries offer a visa on arrival to 35 or more African countries.
Adding that, for 27% of intra-Africa* travel, African citizens can obtain a visa on arrival.
For 47% of intra-Africa travel, African citizens still need a visa before travelling.
The Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) measures the extent to which African countries are open to visitors from other African countries.
The index analyzes each country’s visa requirements to show which countries on the continent facilitate travel to their territory.
For each country, the AVOI calculates the number of African countries whose citizens must obtain a visa before travelling there, the number of countries whose citizens may obtain a visa upon arrival, and the number of countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter.
Each country is then assigned a visa openness score and ranked accordingly. The AVOI also tracks changes in countries’ scores over time.
This shows how countries’ policies are evolving as regards the freedom of movement across Africa, and how visa-related policy changes can have a significant impact on the ease with which citizens of African countries can travel to other countries.
