African Union Passport

African Union passport
The front cover of an African Union diplomatic passport
The picture page of an African Union diplomatic passport
TypePassport
Issued by African Union
First issuedJuly 17, 2016
PurposeIdentification
EligibilityCitizen of an African Union member state

The African Union Passport is a common passport document that is set to replace existing nationally issued African Union member state passports and exempt bearers from having to obtain any visas for all 55 states in Africa.[1][2][3] It was launched on July 17, 2016, at the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union that was held in Kigali in Rwanda by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the late Chadian President Idriss Déby.[4][5][6] As of June 2018, the passport was planned to be rolled out and ready for use at borders worldwide by 2020,[7] however the rollout has since been delayed into 2021.[8]

Types

There are three types of African Union passport that will be issued:

Ordinary passport
These passports are issued to citizens and are intended for occasional travel, such as vacations and business trips. They contain 32 pages, and are valid for 5 years.
Official/Service passport
These passports are issued to officials attached to government institutions who have to travel on official business.
Diplomatic passport
Issued to diplomats and consuls for work-related travel, and to their accompanying dependents.
Temporary passport
These passports are issued to travelling citizens or natives of African countries that cannot get hold of their passports due to various reasons including robbery, theft or accidents. They may last for 6 months to a year.

Design

The passport has inscriptions in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Swahili.[9] The African Union anthem's lyrics are printed on the page immediately after the picture page.

Recognition and acceptance

African Union Member States

State Visa Required ETA Required
 Algeria
 Angola Yes[10]
 Benin
 Botswana
 Burkina Faso
 Burundi
 Cameroon
 Cape Verde
 Central African Republic
 Chad
 Comoros
 Democratic Republic of the Congo
 Republic of the Congo
 Djibouti
 Egypt
 Equatorial Guinea
 Eritrea
 Eswatini
 Ethiopia No[10]
 Gabon
 Gambia
 Ghana No[10]
 Guinea
 Guinea-Bissau
 Ivory Coast No[10]
 Kenya
 Lesotho
 Liberia
 Libya
 Madagascar
 Malawi
 Mali
 Mauritania Yes (on the spot)[10]
 Mauritius
 Morocco
 Mozambique
 Namibia
 Niger
 Nigeria
 Rwanda No[10]
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
 São Tomé and Príncipe
 Senegal
 Seychelles
 Sierra Leone
 Somalia
 South Africa
 South Sudan
 Sudan
 Tanzania No[10]
 Togo
 Tunisia
 Uganda
 Zambia No[10]
 Zimbabwe

Other States

See also


References

  1. ^ Monks, Kieron (July 5, 2016). "African Union launches all-Africa passport". CNN. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  2. ^ "President Kenyatta arrives in Kigali for AU summit". rwandaeye.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  3. ^ "Africa: The Common Passport and Africa's Identity". Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "AU Heads of State to launch African Union Passport during Kigali Summit". July 15, 2016. Archived from the original on July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "Rwanda Ready to Issue African Common Passport | KT PRESS". ktpress.rw. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  6. ^ "Kenyans welcomes AU's passport System introduction". Ghana News. July 12, 2016. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  7. ^ "African Union passports to be rolled out by 2023 - THE AFRICAN COURIER". The African Courier.
  8. ^ Philpot, Lorne (8 January 2021). "Single passport for Africa set to become reality in 2021". TheSouthAfrican.com. Blue Sky Publications. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  9. ^ AfricaNews (2016-07-17). "[Photos] The African passport with 5 language inscriptions | Africanews". africanews.channel. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Okonjo-Iweala: Like Dangote, AU passport didn't give me visa-free entry into all African countries". The Cable. Archived from the original on 2024-03-28.

Further reading

  • African Union (staff) passport information on PRADO
  • Visa Free Africa initiative, AU.int
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