According to an African Union Report in July 2016, African leaders met for the official launch of the African Union (AU) passport during the 27th African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. This event was expected to open the doors to free movement to work, unleash economic growth and increase the intra-African trade. These ideas were echoed by Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, who said that there were high expectations about the AU Passport, since the plan was aimed at creating an atmosphere that would ‘dissolve all barriers to mobility’ as well as foster trade between African countries. This was seen beyond the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area as a significant jump towards Africa’s historical vision of regional integration and the eventual removal of non-tariff barriers that have been spurring the continent’s fragmentation for quite a long time. With the issuance of this new passport, Africa was expecting to achieve the freedom of movement of people, goods and services, which was agreed in major policy frameworks and strategies such as Lagos Plan of Action (1980) and Abuja Treaty (1991). 

However, eight years later, the dream of the African Union passport remains unfulfilled. The excitement from Kigali has not been matched by swift implementation, raising questions about the achievability of the vision. In May 2024, at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man, spoke about the difficulties he faces while traveling within the continent. Despite being a renowned entrepreneur with business interests across multiple African countries, Dangote confessed that navigating the visa requirements of different countries on the continent is a huge challenge. He explained to the audience that, unlike travellers with European passports, he has to go through the tedious process of applying for visas in almost every African country he visits. ‘As an investor, as somebody who really wants to make Africa great, I have to apply [for] 35 different visas on my passport,’ he said. Dangote added that the process was not only time-consuming but also impractical for someone with his schedule: ‘I really don’t have the time to go and be dropping my passport in embassies to get a visa.’ Turning to Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of Total Energies, who was seated beside him, Dangote made a striking comparison: ‘I can assure you Patrick doesn’t need 35 visas on a French passport, which means you have freer movement than myself in Africa.’ Dangote’s comment underscored the irony that European nationals, from former colonial countries, have more freedom of movement in Africa than many Africans themselves. 

In March 2025, Alma Asinobi, a Nigerian travel content creator, who tried to break the Guinness World Record for the quickest time to visit all the continents of the world faced a lot of hurdles despite proper planning. And the biggest of these challenges was presented by her Nigerian passport, which hindered her from beating the record of 64 hours set by American veteran Johnny Cruz Buckingham in February 2025. ​Asinobi had to deal with delays and extra scrutiny at different airports during her journey. Such experience shows the systemic obstacles many African and Nigerian travellers often face, even when their documentation is in order. Even though Asinobi did not break the record, her voyage sparked important conversations about passport privilege and the challenges faced by travellers from countries with limited visa-free access. However, while some nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Mauritius have made strides in easing visa restrictions, the broader African states remain fragmented, with citizens still facing daunting travel restrictions within their own continent. 

Since the formation of the AU in 2002, several instances of poor diplomatic relations have persisted among African nations, often resulting from historical grievances, territorial disputes, political disagreements and economic competition. One notable example is the long-standing tension between Morocco and Algeria over the issue of Western Sahara. In 1984, Morocco withdrew from the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the AU’s predecessor, after the organization admitted the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Morocco claims sovereignty over the Western Sahara, while Algeria supports the Polisario Front, a movement fighting for the region’s independence. The conflict has not ceased in causing tension between the two North African nations, even after Morocco’s re-integration into the Maputo-based bloc in 2017. Such political tensions affect cooperation within the region and limit experimentations such as visa liberalization or the freedom of movement within the continent. An example is how Algerian authorities to this day regulate the access of Moroccan people and vice versa, even though the two nations have similar cultures and histories. 

Another case of diplomatic imbalance in Africa occurred between Rwanda and Uganda in 2019, when Rwanda closed its borders to Uganda, citing Uganda’s support for rebel groups hostile to the Rwandan government. Uganda, in turn, accused Rwanda of espionage. The dispute badly disrupted trade and regional security within the East African Community (EAC). The prolonged border closure also directly affected ordinary citizens, hindering the free movement of people and goods as visa policies between the two countries became stricter. While the AU and regional bodies mediated the dispute, the distrust lingers and full normalization of relations remains a work in progress. Also, the rift and split between Sudan and South Sudan in 2011 has led to continuous diplomatic and military tensions, especially over the oil-rich border regions of Abyei and Heglig. The poor diplomatic relationship between Sudan and South Sudan has also affected visa regimes, as both nations often impose strict travel requirements on each other’s citizens. The unstable nature of the region, fuelled by ongoing conflicts, discourages international partners from offering more relaxed visa regulations for Sudanese and South Sudanese citizens, limiting mobility to other parts of Africa and beyond. 

It is impossible to talk of diplomatic strain and leave out the Kenya–Somalia maritime territorial disagreement. It boiled over in 2009 when the two nations claimed sovereignty over an area in the Indian Ocean of about 100,000 square kilometres, which experts hypothesize to contain oil and natural gas. In 2021, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided on the case in favour of Somalia, but Kenya rejected the decision, which deepened tensions. Besides the political crises that the two nations have been experiencing, this diplomatic feud has also impaired movement between the two countries. A very recent diplomatic fallout occurred between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali in 2022 when 49 soldiers from Côte d’Ivoire were held in Mali on the grounds of being mercenaries planning to overthrow Mali’s government. Côte d’Ivoire defended the actions of the soldiers as being in fulfilment of their duties as members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the region, but this event brought the diplomatic relationship between the two West African nations to an end, leading to implementations of restrictive and stringent travel policy measures between the two countries.