Of Africa’s 54 countries, 36 are now subject to either travel bans or visa bonds by the United States. African states are the prime target of President Donald Trump’s latest round of travel restrictions, which he says are aimed at protecting national security and preventing visitors overstaying.
The US State Department this week added several more African countries – including Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe – to its list of states whose passport holders will be required to post bonds when applying for a visa.
Nationals from these countries will now have to pay either $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when applying for a US visa, with the amount determined at the time of an interview.
Of 38 countries required to post visa bonds, 24 are in Africa.
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Another 12 African countries are subject to outright travel bans, after Trump extended entry restrictions in December.
Since then, nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan have been barred from the US. That is in addition to people from Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, who have been banned since June.
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Prohibitively expensive
The latest visa restrictions will come into effect on 21 January.
US authorities say the bonds are meant to reduce the number of foreigners who overstay the authorised period of lawful admission in the country.
They will be refunded if travellers do not breach its terms, or if they are denied entry to the US.
For many in Africa, the cost of a visa bond will make travel prohibitively expensive.
In Zimbabwe, where most of the population lives on less than $4 a day, the new restrictions are not welcome. “Zimbabweans see this as part of a US domestic and foreign policy invigoration,” journalist Dumisani Muleya told RFI.
“The US is pursuing a dual strategy of internal fortification through restrictive border and immigration policies, while also maintaining an assertive, outward-projecting diplomatic and military posture,” said Muleya, the editor-in-chief of news website NewsHawks.
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Tightened conditions
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Waivers to the US travel bans can be granted on a case-by-case basis, according to the State Department, for example to individuals who “would serve the US national interest”.
Waivers also apply to participants in major sporting events. The US is co-hosting the Fifa World Cup in June and July 2026.
The restrictions on African travellers come as the US tightens entry conditions across the board.
Travellers of any nationality applying for a US visa are now required to list all social media platforms and usernames they have used in the past five years. They are also obliged to provide a list of all the countries they have visited in the past.
In November last year, the State Department instructed its overseas consular services to apply health criteria while screening visa applicants.
Applicants with health conditions, including mental illness, obesity, diabetes or cancer may face rejection because they could be considered a “public charge”. The policy targets anyone who could potentially drain US resources due to their health issues or age.