Malawi ranks low on visa index

 Malawi has performed poorly on the Africa Visa Openness Index (Avoi), ranking 23rd out of 54 African countries, scoring 0.449 points due to the requirement for the citizens ofmany African countries to get a visa to get into the country.

Since 2016 when Malawi was ranked 22, though slumping on ranking, it has moved by +0.134 points, according to the Index jointly done by the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

For each country, the Avoi calculates the number of African countries whose citizens must obtain a visa before travelling there, the number of countries whose citizens may obtain a visa upon arrival, and the number of countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter.

In Malawi, for instance, 15 countries do not need a visa to come in, 11 countries are required to get a visa on arrival, while 27 countries are required to get a visa before getting into the country.

The Avoi aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Protocol on the Free Movement of People and, in particular, advances the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, with a market of 1.3 billion people.

The positive mark for Malawi, though dismal, is among others due to its ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), but was yet to join the Single African Air Transport Market.

In November, Minister of Trade Sosten Gwengwe said the country had submitted to the AfCFTA secretariat Access Market Offer, a list of 7 800 products from Malawi to be traded in a market of 1.2 billion people