African Union Passport

Last updated
African Union passport
African Union passport cover.png
The front cover of an African Union diplomatic passport
McHenry Venaani's AU Passport.jpg
The picture page of an African Union diplomatic passport
TypePassport
Issued byFlag of the African Union.svg  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]

Contents

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

StateVisa RequiredETA Required
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola Yes [10]
Flag of Benin.svg  Benin
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Republic of the Congo
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia No [10]
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana No [10]
Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast No [10]
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho
Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania Yes (on the spot) [10]
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia
Flag of Niger.svg  Niger
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda No [10]
Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania No [10]
Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  Togo
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia No [10]
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe

Other States

See also

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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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "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