This article needs to be updated.(September 2022) |
African Union passport | |
---|---|
Type | Passport |
Issued by | African Union |
First issued | July 17, 2016 |
Purpose | Identification |
Eligibility | Citizen of an African Union member state |
The African Union Passport is a common passport document that is set to replace existing nationally issued African Union member state passports and exempt bearers from having to obtain any visas for all 55 states in Africa.[1][2][3] It was launched on July 17, 2016, at the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union that was held in Kigali in Rwanda by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the late Chadian President Idriss Déby.[4][5][6] As of June 2018, the passport was planned to be rolled out and ready for use at borders worldwide by 2020,[7] however the rollout has since been delayed into 2021.[8]
There are three types of African Union passport that will be issued:
The passport has inscriptions in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Swahili.[9] The African Union anthem's lyrics are printed on the page immediately after the picture page.