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Visa restrictions continue to limit mobility for many nations in the Global South and hinder Africa-Caribbean trade, high-level delegates at an investment forum have said.
According to the latest version of the Henley Passport Index, which ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa, and is powered by data from the International Air Transport Association, Jamaica ranks 56 among 227 countries.
Asian nations dominate the top tier of the index, the top three being Singapore in pole position, followed by Japan and South Korea, which are tied for second place, each offering visa-free access to 190 destinations.
In contrast, Ghana and Nigeria – ancestral homelands for many in the Caribbean – rank 71 and 88, respectively.
“This is real,” said Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew of St Kitts-Nevis, speaking at the Africaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2025 in Grenada. St Kitts-Nevis ranks 25 on the global index.
Drew revealed that an African businessman scheduled to sign a major deal in St Kitts-Nevis on Monday was unable to attend due to visa restrictions. “That is directly already affecting how we do business,” he said during a presidential panel moderated by CNN’s Zain Asher.
In Jamaica, most visitors are required to pay a US$100 visa processing fee, including nationals from several Commonwealth countries. However, exemptions apply to citizens from major economies such as the United States, Israel, China, Japan, and many Latin American nations, such as Brazil.
Jamaica’s Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency data indicates that 15 of Africa’s 55 countries are currently visa-exempt. These include Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Ghana, Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda and Zambia.
The investment forum, or ACTIF2025 for short, held under the theme of ‘Cooperation in an Era of Global Uncertainty’, aims to generate even more investment than previous events. The inaugural forum in Barbados generated US$2 billion in opportunities; the second in Guyana yielded US$551 million, excluding oil deals; and the third in The Bahamas produced US$4 billion.
Founded in 1993, Afreximbank continues to promote trade among Africa, the Caribbean, and other regions of African descent.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica echoed the concerns regarding mobility, saying the current visa regime is an anachronistic “colonial construct” that requires dismantling in modern times.
Visa liberalisation, leaders argue, is not merely a diplomatic gesture, but is essential for unlocking trade, investment, and cultural exchange across the Global South. Comparatively, while citizens of the Global North enjoy near-universal travel access, those from the South face steep restrictions – even among each other – despite shared heritage and growing economic ties, they said.
Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s leading industrialist and one of Africa’s wealthiest individuals, weighed in at the conference via a live video feed.
“I do not have a visa problem, but other entrepreneurs have visa issues,” he said, while lamenting the lack of direct air connectivity between the regions. “We are the same people divided by the colonial masters,” he added.
In 2024, Dangote was quoted as saying he required 35 visas to travel within Africa.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados noted that five years ago, her government removed visa requirements for nearly all African nations.
“We lifted visa restrictions for all of Africa except five countries, and those were retained for security reasons,” she said.
The leaders’ remarks come amid growing calls to dismantle outdated immigration systems and foster freer movement between Africa and the Caribbean. Dangote pointed to economic opportunities that could be tackled, saying the removal of trade barriers, including free movement for investors, would assist in unlocking them. For instance, he noted that “cement costs three times more” in the Caribbean than in Africa.
A decade ago, Dangote invested US$700 million in Tanzania to build a new cement plant, which included a 300-megawatt power plant.
“We produce power at US$0.02 per kilowatt hour,” he said, indicating that it was about one-tenth the cost of power generated in the Caribbean.
“We need to get that power cost down,” Dangote said, having flagged high energy costs as a barrier to growth. “The Caribbean needs to work hard on that,” he said.
Mottley added that renewable energy offers a viable path to lowering costs and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
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