A major shift in regional travel and integration is taking shape in the Horn of Africa.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has announced an ambitious plan to introduce a Single Visa Initiative that would allow visitors to move freely across its eight member states with just one digital visa.
The proposal aims to simplify travel for non-IGAD citizens while strengthening economic cooperation, tourism, and investment within the region.
By creating a harmonised and unified digital visa system, IGAD hopes to position the bloc as a competitive global destination where business and tourism thrive seamlessly across borders.
Speaking at the opening of the Experts Meeting of the 3rd IGAD Ministerial Conference on Labour, Employment, and Labour Migration in Nairobi on Monday, October 20, 2025, IGAD Chairperson for the Free Movement Cluster, Souleimon Meïmin Robleh, said the initiative reflects the bloc’s broader vision of shared growth and connectivity.
“Regional mobility is not a threat, it is an engine for shared development. Through IGAD’s Free Movement Protocol, we are building a future where borders connect rather than divide our people and economies,” he said.
The Single Visa Initiative is built upon Article 13(A) of the IGAD founding agreement and aligns with the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons.
It seeks to replace fragmented visa regimes that currently complicate movement across the region. Once in place, the new system will enable international travellers to explore the IGAD region spanning; Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda, under a single, simplified entry framework.
Beyond the visa plan, IGAD is working on a Regional Biometric Identity Card (IRBIC) for its citizens to improve internal mobility.
This card is expected to particularly benefit pastoralist and cross-border communities, whose livelihoods depend on the ability to move freely across national frontiers.
Currently, the region’s visa-free reciprocity rate stands at just 14 per cent, among the lowest on the continent. IGAD officials say this low level of openness remains a major obstacle to regional integration, trade, and employment opportunities.
The two-day experts’ session, which concludes on Wednesday, brings together government officials from labour, immigration, and foreign affairs ministries, as well as employer associations and trade unions from across the IGAD bloc. Their recommendations will feed into a ministerial conference expected to adopt new strategies on labour migration, employment, and border management.
If adopted, the IGAD Single Visa could redefine travel and investment in the Horn of Africa.
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