With its new initiative to offer visas on arrival to African visitors,
Ethiopia hopes to spur tourism, trade and investment, as part of the
African Union’s vision of creating “seamless borders” across the
continent and achieving economic integration. (photo: Twitter,
Ethiopian Airlines).
Ethiopia has revamped and streamlined its visa system for visitors
from African nations in a move that will spur tourism, trade and
investment, and has broad implications for African unity.
As of Nov. 1, Ethiopia has implemented what is known as a
visa-on-arrival service for African travelers to the East African
nation, allowing foreign visitors to receive a visa upon arrival, and
effectively opening its doors to all people arriving from throughout
the continent.
“It is truly an honor and a special privilege to witness this
historical and truly inspirational day. Ethiopian Airlines has been
bringing Africa together and closer to the world for over seven
decades,” said Ethiopian Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam at a ceremony
held at the African Union Commission headquarters. “Today, Ethiopian
flies to 60 African destinations and connects the continent to over 50
major international cities in five continents. Visa on arrival for
fellow African brothers and sisters and, more importantly, visa online
will greatly boost cross-border tourism, trade and investment, further
deepening African integration.”
The new Ethiopian visa announcement comes on the heels of a new e-Visa
service that was launched in June. That service, initiated by the
Ethiopian Immigration and Nationality Affairs Main Department in
collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines, allows all international
visitors to apply and pay for a tourist visa online and receive it by
email message, reducing wait times and streamlining the travel
process, and eliminating the need for travelers to go to the Ethiopian
Embassy in their home country to apply for a travel permit. The
driving force behind the revamped visa service is “a new national
initiative to transform the tourism sector” in Ethiopia, according to
a press release, as Ethiopian Airlines hopes the new visa initiative
will facilitate conference tourism and boost tourism flow. For the
airline, which is unquestionably the largest carrier in Africa, the
visa plan falls into its pan-African strategy of further connecting
and creating alliances in the African airline industry.
The recent steps taken by Ethiopia �` Africa’s second-largest country
in terms of population and the continent’s fastest growing economy �`
has

taken point to a larger trend that other African nations are
expected to follow. This as Ethiopia ultimately wants to enable the
economic integration of the continent and facilitate the AU’s
promotion of the free movement of people across Africa. Kenya, Rwanda,
and Mauritius have all eased visa restrictions in the past few years,
and Ghana has offered visas upon arrival to all African nationals,
even as some African nations have gone in the other direction.
For example, South Africa has eased restrictions on Chinese and Indian
visitors, but not on travelers from within the African continent. In
addition, Tanzania has reversed its visa-on-arrival policy for
Nigeria, Mali, and Somalia.
The AU, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, has urged all member
nations to issue a visa-on-arrival program by 2023. The AU Agenda 2063
also calls for the issuance of an African Common Passport by 2023. In
2016, the AU announced the launch of an e-passport, which will be
initially available to African heads of state, government ministers
and permanent representatives of AU member nations. Such moves
ultimately will create “seamless borders” across the continent in a
European Union-style concept, and allow for closer steps toward
economic integration of Africa. In February 2018, the AU introduced a
Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), an effort to liberalize
civil aviation and break down barriers to trade and labor movement in
Africa, which have stifled African development over the years. SAATM
promises to increase airline connectivity across the continent and
enhance competitiveness in the African airline sector, resulting in an
expansion in tourism, trade and commerce within Africa and with the
rest of the world. The AU expects a unified airline market �` which
includes the lifting of visa restrictions and dropping tariff and
customs restraints �` will bring about 300,000 additional direct jobs
and two million indirect jobs.
Last year, the AU launched the “.africa” domain, which aspires to
unite Africa on the Internet just as the member nations seek greater
connectivity in the air and in travel, trade and investment.
With the introduction of an innovative and streamlined visa program
for its fellow African travelers, Ethiopia is setting a standard for
Africans to follow, in a pan-African vision of economic cooperation
that can only boost the continent. V.2574

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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