Chad has announced that it will eliminate entry visa requirements for all African nationals starting from January 1, 2027.
With this announcement, Chad becomes the eighth African nation to implement a blanket visa-free policy for citizens of the continent.
The move is expected to drive an increase in both tourist and business arrivals across its borders while serving as a instrument of soft diplomacy that could encourage neighboring states to reciprocal measures.
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby said the decision is aimed at promoting African integration and making the free movement of people and goods across the continent more practical.
The policy will remove visa requirements for African nationals travelling to Chad, making it easier for citizens across the continent to visit the Central African country.
According to Mahamat Idriss Deby, President of Chad, the new policy will ensure that there is seamless movement of people and goods across Africa in order to position the nation at the forefront of the continent’s open-border initiatives.
As it stands Nigerian passport holders already have visa free access to the country.
The geographical significance of the decision by Chad’s is underscored by its central position vin the continent being a landlocked country sharing borders with six nations.
Chad functions as a natural crossroads connecting North, West, Central, and East Africa.
Other African countries that have extended similar open-door policies policies to Africans include the Benin Republic, The Gambia, Rwanda, Seychelless, Ghana, Kenya and Togo.
In May, Togo announced that Africans with valid passport can travel to the country without visas.
The decision aligns directly with the broader objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 framework and complements the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), both of which seek to lower historical trade and mobility barriers across Africa.
-9News Nigeria.
