Africa

Political transitions and policy uncertainty across multiple jurisdictions

Late 2024 saw a dense cycle of presidential and parliamentary elections across Africa, with changes in government in Botswana, Ghana, and Mauritania, alongside contested or controversial outcomes in Algeria, Mozambique, Tunisia, and Namibia. While immediate immigration law changes were limited, these political shifts introduced uncertainty around future labor mobility, localization, and foreign worker policy throughout 2025 and into Q4.

Employers were advised to monitor post-election policy signals, particularly where new administrations may recalibrate people mobility frameworks to align with domestic employment priorities.

Accelerated digitization of immigration and border management systems

Governments across Africa continued to modernize immigration infrastructure through digital platforms. Nigeria led this trend, launching an e-Visa system, phasing out physical CERPAC (Comprehensive Expatriate Residence Permit and Automated Cards) forms in favour of a fully digital e-CERPAC process, mandating online landing and exit cards, and digitizing Temporary Work Permit (TWP) applications.

Liberia implemented an electronic Visa on Arrival system, while Kenya refined its eTA (electronic Travel Authorisation) framework with broad exemptions for African and select non-African nationals.

South Africa announced plans to expand digital border management, including biometric tracking and future ETA implementation. These measures collectively aimed to improve efficiency, data integrity, and compliance oversight.

Stronger compliance, localization, and employer accountability frameworks

Several jurisdictions introduced tighter compliance and localization controls. Nigeria’s EAS (Expatriate Administrative System) created real-time visibility of expatriate quotas and permits, shifted repatriation costs to employers, and reinforced understudy program monitoring. Additional reforms introduced stricter localization requirements, higher fees for expatriate quotas, repatriation insurance obligations, and penalties for overstays.

South Africa’s proposed National Labour Migration Policy similarly outlined quotas across key sectors and limits on foreign business activity. These developments signaled a clear regional move toward prioritizing local labor while retaining controlled access to foreign skills.

Temporary concessions, amnesties, and transitional protections

Governments continued to use temporary measures to manage administrative backlogs and compliance transitions. South Africa repeatedly extended concessions allowing foreign nationals with pending appeals and waivers and those under the Lesotho and Zimbabwean Exemption Permits to continue working and traveling lawfully.

Nigeria introduced an Expired Visa Initiative (amnesty), enabling overstayers to regularize status or depart without penalties. These mechanisms reflected pragmatic approaches to enforcement, balancing compliance objectives with workforce continuity and administrative realities.

Evolving travel regimes and regional mobility realignments

Africa experienced both liberalization and restriction in short-term travel regimes. Burkina Faso waived visa fees for all African nationals, while Rwanda and The Gambia topped continental Visa Openness rankings, reinforcing leadership in intra-African mobility.

Conversely, Nigeria announced the end of Visa on Arrival, replacing it with enhanced pre-arrival security screening, and Niger imposed stricter entry requirements for Nigerians following its withdrawal from ECOWAS.

Tanzania introduced visa-free travel for Angolan nationals, while the DRC revoked visa-free entry for Zimbabweans. These changes underscored increasingly differentiated approaches to regional and bilateral mobility.

Long-term strategic reforms under consultation

Beyond immediate operational changes, several countries signaled structural reform agendas. South Africa released draft White Papers on Labour Migration and on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection for public consultation, proposing merit-based permanent residence, new visa categories for skilled workers and remote professionals, and stricter asylum frameworks.

Nigeria’s National Labour Migration Policy introduced sector-based quotas and restrictions on foreign participation in SMEs. While many of these reforms remain consultative or phased, they point toward more strategic, economically aligned migration systems.