This landmark decision is more than an administrative reform — it is a people-centred policy that gives practical meaning to Africa’s vision of integration. By removing barriers to the movement of Africans, Burkina Faso is helping to accelerate intra-African trade, regional integration, and the spirit of Pan-Africanism. It is also an act of decolonisation of African borders, restoring dignity and pride to Africans who aspire to move, work, and live freely within their own continent.

Importantly, this initiative is a direct enabler of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). For the AfCFTA to succeed, the free flow of goods and services must be matched by the free movement of people. Workers, entrepreneurs, and professionals are the carriers of skills, knowledge, and innovation. Their mobility is vital for building functional and efficient industries, expanding markets, and creating decent jobs. Without the ability of workers to move freely, the promise of the AfCFTA will remain incomplete.

From a workers’ perspective, the visa-free regime supports:
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Labour Mobility – enabling cross-border workers, traders, and professionals to access opportunities with fewer restrictions.
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Knowledge and Skills Exchange – making it easier for African talent to circulate where it is most needed.
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Decent Work and Fair Competition – laying the ground for harmonisation of labour standards under AfCFTA protocols.
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Importantly, it speaks to the dignity of the African people who must consciously and genuinely undo the overdue border colonisation initiated in 1884 by the invading colonisers.
ITUC-Africa, therefore, calls on other African governments yet to remove visa restrictions to emulate Burkina Faso’s example. We must move towards a continent where Africans no longer face prohibitive and denigrating barriers in visiting, working, or doing business with one another.

At the same time, we stress that visa processes where they remain as a transition to the eventual removal must be technology-enabled, efficient, and affordable. No African should pay more than a tenth of their country’s minimum wage for a visa. Such reforms are essential to ensure inclusivity and fairness, and to prevent mobility from becoming a privilege of the few.
Burkina Faso’s decision shines as a beacon of what is possible when governments put people and workers at the centre of policy. It strengthens the very foundation of the AfCFTA and signals a future where African workers can move freely and with pride to contribute to continental development.

ITUC-Africa stands ready to work with the African Union, governments, and progressive pan-African civil society organisations to ensure that labour mobility, people and workers’ rights are embedded at the heart of the AfCFTA. The time for Africa is now; let’s not waste further time in the quest to unite its people.

Signed on this 25th Day of September 2025
Akhator Joel Odigie
General Secretary
ITUC-Africa
Lome, Togo