By Joe Udo
OUAGADOUGOU (CONVERSEER) – In a historic Pan-African move, Burkina Faso’s transitional government announced on 11th September 2025, that it would waive all visa fees for citizens of African countries.
The Council of Ministers approved a law amending the 2025 budget to make tourist and business visas free of charge for all 54 African nations (excluding non-sovereign territories).
Officials stress this is a fee waiver, not a total visa exemption – African visitors must still obtain a visa through official channels, but will no longer pay a fee once approved.
Transitional President Capt. Ibrahim Traoré and his government framed the decision as part of Burkina Faso’s “pan-African vision,” aiming to strengthen bonds of brotherhood and promote tourism and business on the continent.
According to Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, from now on “any citizen from an African country wishing to go to Burkina Faso will not pay any amount to cover their visa fees,” boosting the country’s visibility and integration.
Despite the fee waiver, travellers must apply for a visa through Burkina Faso’s online portal (visaburkina.bf) as before.
Authorities make clear this is not a visa-free regime – applications will still be reviewed, and only if approved will a free entry visa be issued.
In practice, this means short-stay visas (for tourism or business) up to 30–90 days are granted without charge. (Burkina’s tourist visas have typically been issued for up to 90 days.) Some travellers may also still obtain visas on arrival at major airports or border posts, as has long been the case for many nationalities, but the government encourages the use of the e-visa system for planning purposes.
The official e-visa portal is being updated to reflect the new policy (as of 12th September it was still listing standard fees), and officials urge visitors to check it or consult Burkina Faso’s embassies for current processing details.
Continuity for ECOWAS Nationals
Citizens of the remaining ECOWAS member states continue to enjoy full visa-free entry into Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger formally left ECOWAS on 29th January 2025 as the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States, but they have committed to maintaining free movement for ECOWAS nationals.
Under a December 2024 AES declaration, “the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) is a visa-free zone for all nationals of the member states of ECOWAS,” meaning any ECOWAS citizen may enter, reside, and establish in Burkina Faso without a visa.
This commitment is backed by mutual arrangements: ECOWAS authorities have likewise agreed to recognise ECOWAS passports and identity cards from Burkina Faso (as well as Mali and Niger) during a transition period, ensuring that free movement continues uninterrupted.
In short, nationals of the 12 ECOWAS countries (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo) still enter Burkina Faso without any visa or fee under these longstanding protocols.
Benefits for Non-ECOWAS African Travellers
The new rule principally benefits the ~36 African countries outside ECOWAS. Citizens of nations such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and others will no longer pay visa fees for travel to Burkina Faso. Travel remains subject to standard entry requirements, but the waiver removes a major financial barrier.
Officials hope the move will increase African tourism and trade in Burkina Faso by making short trips and business visits simpler. As Minister Sana noted, the measure “will also help promote tourism [and] improve Burkina Faso’s visibility abroad,” aligning with broader continental goals.
For non-African nationals, Burkina Faso’s existing visa rules still apply. Passengers from most outside countries must continue to obtain a visa (and pay fees) as before. (Some countries already enjoy special exemptions; for example, citizens of Singapore and the United Arab Emirates can enter visa-free for short stays.) Visitors from other nations should consult Burkina Faso’s consulates or its e-visa site to confirm the latest requirements.
Pan-African Unity and Travel Impact
The visa reform is being cast as a symbol of Pan-African solidarity. It resonates with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions the African passport and free movement of people across the continent.
In AU speeches and documents, visa liberalisation is explicitly linked to boosting intra-African trade, tourism and integration. Free movement “is expected to deliver” broad benefits: increased commerce and tourism, easier labour mobility and skills-sharing, and a stronger shared African identity.
By waiving visa fees, Burkina Faso joins a small but growing number of African states that have opened their borders to all Africans – alongside Rwanda, Kenya, Benin, Gambia and Seychelles – underscoring a trend toward continental openness.
Experts note that visa-free travel can have profound economic effects. Lowering travel barriers has been shown to encourage tourism, cross-border investment, and trade.
The African Development Bank and others argue that without easier movement of people, the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) cannot be fully realised. Intra-African trade remains low (around 15% of total African trade) in part because travellers and businesspeople face cumbersome visa hurdles.
By contrast, studies of recent reforms in Kenya and Rwanda – which eliminated visas for Africans in 2023 – have found immediate upticks in tourism, faster investment flows and growth in small businesses dependent on regional mobility.
Observers expect a similar dynamic in Burkina Faso: travel becomes cheaper and more convenient, which in turn should stimulate hotel bookings, trade fairs, and business negotiations across West Africa.
A regional perspective reinforces this view. The Alliance of Sahel States is already exploring a unified “Liptako visa” to further ease travel within the bloc. Under discussions in Bamako, experts proposed a community visa that would allow foreigners (including Africans) to move freely among Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Though still pending approval, this Liptako visa would complement Burkina Faso’s national policy by integrating Sahel travel.
