Africa
Key trends shaping Africa's labor and immigration landscape
Economic contribution increasingly shapes access to facilitated mobility
Several jurisdictions introduced targeted mobility options for investors, businesspeople, and qualifying corporate employers. Mauritius linked its new Golden Visa to investment in specified economic sectors while Namibia established a dedicated employment permit for foreign nationals looking to conduct business in the country. South Africa also extended priority processing and reduced documentation requirements to approved participants under Phase II of the Trusted Employer Scheme. Together, these developments show mobility in the region is becoming more closely connected to investment, business activity, employment, sector, and skills-development criteria. The changes create additional options for investor residence, business establishment, and corporate workforce deployment, but access remains conditional on meeting defined economic and organizational requirements.
Digital systems are consolidating the pretravel processes
Angola and Somalia expanded digital immigration administration beyond basic online application submission. Angola replaced its former previous visa portal with a system combining user registration, electronic applications, fee payment, and application tracking. Somalia introduced a centralized electronic travel authorization process where travelers can apply, pay, monitor progress, and receive approval online.
These developments bring more stages of the pretravel process into a single digital environment. This may improve visibility and coordination for employers and travelers while increasing the importance of completing electronic procedures before travel. These measures change how applications are administered rather than the underlying immigration eligibility framework.
Angola
Angola continued its shift toward digital immigration administration with the launch of its new official e-Visa platform on August 31, 2026. Replacing the previous online portal, the system combines user registration, visa applications, electronic fee payment, and application tracking.
For employers and travelers, the platform provides greater visibility of application progress and a more coordinated digital process when arranging travel to Angola. The change is administrative in scope and doesn’t alter the available visa categories, eligibility requirements, or permitted activities.
Ghana
Ghana has expanded its digital eVisa platform from seven airports to 48 ports of entry. International travelers may present their preapproved digital permits in digital or printed format at participating air, land, and sea entry points across the country.
The policy reflects a strategic balance between promoting continental integration and generating state revenue. African passport holders now benefit from zero visa fees under a mandatory prearrival application system that replaces the old visa-on-arrival process; non-African applicants are charged USD 260 for standard single-entry digital permits.
The online application process, available through the official Ghana eVisa portal, is intended to reduce paperwork and processing time at ports of entry. It also allows applications to be reviewed before travel, helping immigration authorities process arrivals more efficiently.
Mauritius
Mauritius expanded its investment-linked residence offering through a new Golden Visa Scheme for foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals. The renewable two-year e-visa extends to the holder’s spouse and dependent children, with holders expected to invest at least USD 1 million in a qualifying project within the first 12 months.
Meeting the investment requirement enables the holder to apply for permanent residence, creating a longer-term pathway for investors and their families. Qualifying sectors include financial services, technology, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, health care and wellness, education, renewable energy, the blue economy, and creative industries.
Namibia
Namibia established a dedicated employment permit for foreign nationals seeking to establish or conduct business in the country, effective September 1, 2026. The permit introduced a new application form and supporting requirements.
The permit provides a clearer framework for investors and businesspeople seeking to operate in Namibia. Applications require information on the individual’s proposed role, intended period of residence, expected investment figures, business activities, and accompanying dependents, bringing greater structure to the immigration process for foreign-owned or foreign-operated businesses.
Somalia
The Somalia federal government introduced a mandatory, centralized pretravel screening process that functions strictly as a single-entry electronic travel authorization system (eTAS) administered by the country’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency. Travelers can submit applications, pay the applicable fee, monitor progress, and receive approved authorizations electronically.
The eTAS platform operates as a secure end-to-end web portal engineered to facilitate statutory compliance, including digital application ingestion, an integrated payment gateway, real-time status tracking, and electronic credential delivery.
Applicants must hold a passport valid for at least six months from the date of entry. The move places greater emphasis on advance authorization and digital status management, adding a formal pretravel step for business travelers and employers planning travel to Somalia.
This new regulation means employers should integrate the preclearance phase into their corporate mobility timelines. Deploying personnel without a verified eTAS may result in denial of entry and potential penalties.
South Africa
South Africa introduced two measures aimed at reducing friction in selected immigration processes. Under Ministerial Immigration Directive No. 10 of 2026, medical reports are no longer required for specified temporary residence visa and permanent residence applications. The waiver applies to new and pending cases, reducing the documentation required for affected filings; however, some consulates will require the document until they are familiar with the amendment.
The Department of Home Affairs also opened Phase II of the Trusted Employer Scheme on July 20, 2026, extending the program to qualifying infrastructure projects, regional or global headquarters, and specified financial-sector structures. Approved participants benefit from priority processing and reduced supporting-document requirements, subject to investment, employment, sector, and skills-development criteria. The submission window closed on September 4, 2026, and the outcome is expected in November 2026.
The Department of Home Affairs has announced the introduction of a Digital Identity, which will gradually phase out the physical identity documents for South African citizens and permanent residents. There are also planned expansions to the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to include work and study visas from 2027 to support the digitization of South African immigration, shorten adjudication times, and limit administration for employers and employees.
Tanzania
Tanzania simplified entry procedures for Nigerian passport holders, meaning applicable travelers are now exempt from preclearance—a process that previously took two months. Affected travelers may now use the standard visa process through Tanzania’s online immigration portal or at designated entry points instead of obtaining referred-visa clearance.
The change removes an additional stage of pretravel approval and supports more straightforward travel between Nigeria and Tanzania. Existing visa eligibility, documentation, and permitted-activity requirements remain unchanged.
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Itang Amissine
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Senior Manager