Burkina Faso: Country removes visa costs for African citizens

President Ibrahim Traore’s government in Burkina Faso has announced a new scheme to lift all visa costs on tourist and business visas for citizens of 54 African countries, though the new programme will not include territories or semi-independent nations, according to Africanews, September 12.

Previously, a tourist visa or business visa would set travellers back €83 and €183 respectively, however, under the new scheme aiming to improve the country’s economy through tourism and easy business interaction, visa costs have been removed for visitors from the continent.

While Burkina Faso’s visa costs improves its freedom of movement for some, it has also been reducing the freedoms of other groups in the country at the same time, most notably with the criminalisation of homosexuality for the first time in the country’s history.

Africanews, Maghrebi