While the idea of a truly border-free world remains a far-left fantasy, the general trend over the last few decades has been to lower travel restrictions.
When the first Henley Passport Index came out in 2006, the world’s most powerful passport from Japan would give its holders visa-free access to 58 of the world’s 193 recognized countries. By 2024, that number had risen to 164 for the front-runner, Singapore.
A collection of fishing boats on the beach on the Cape Coast, Central Region, Ghana
Getty Images/Ulrich Hollmann
Ghana now allows visa-free travel
The reason for such a stark change comes down to countries either getting rid of or reworking their visa requirements. The latest nation to do so is Ghana â since the start of 2025, the West African country has scrapped the visa requirement for anyone with a passport from the African continent.Â
Outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo pushed for the change, which is part of a wider effort to promote trans-African solidarity and tourism in general. In December 2023, Kenya took the ultimate step of eliminating visas for anyone regardless of nationality (visitors still need to apply for an online electronic travel authorization).
Related: A low-cost airline just launched a rare new flight to Africa
“I am proud to have approved visa-free travel to Ghana for all African passport holders, with effect from the beginning of this year,” Akufo-Addo said in his final state-of-the-nation address last December. “This is the logical next step to the African Continental Free Trade Area and the workings of the largest trading bloc in the world.”
Fellow African countries such as Gambia, Rwanda, Seychelles and Benin have also passed similar changes for neighboring travelers, while visitors from other parts of the world can benefit from the shared KAZA UNIVISA granting travel between Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In his final address before stepping aside for incoming president John Mahama, Akufo-Addo said that, âGhanaâs future is tied to a united continent.” In total, citizens of the 54 countries on the African continent will be able to come to Ghana without a visa (many of these were already able to do so due to individual free travel agreements) while citizens of 26 other countries across the world also have visa-free access to Ghana.
More on travel:
Aircraft manufacturer files for bankruptcy and reveals its plansThis national park sees the most winter dangersAnother country just issued a new visa requirement for visitors
Americans are required to get a visa to visit Ghana for tourist purposes but can apply for one upon arrival at the airport. Tourism to Ghana from the United States, in particular, has been ramping up in the last year.
Starting in February 2025, United Airlines UAL will increase its flight schedule between Accra and Washington Dulles International Airport to six times a week, while Delta DAL started using its new Airbus A330-900neo EADSF plane for flights to the Ghanaian capital from JFK. The larger aircraft allows the Atlanta-based airline to increase its seat capacity to Ghana by as much as 30%.
“Africa continues to be an integral part of Unitedâs global network and we are delighted to announce an increase of flights from Accra to Washington Dulles,” United’s Country Sales Manager Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa Oluwatomi Bola-Sadipe said in a statement when the new schedule was announced last year.
Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire S&P 500 warning for 2025
