Get Guardian on GoogleThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has set January 1, 2027, as the deadline for member states to accept its biometric identity card at all official border crossings, in a move aimed at strengthening regional integration and simplifying travel across West Africa.
The agreement, reached at the 10th annual meeting of ECOWAS heads of immigration in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on November 3 and 4, requires member states to recognise valid ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Cards (ENBIC) issued by any member country as sufficient proof of identity and community citizenship.
Under the Freetown Declaration adopted at the meeting, acceptance of the card will apply even in countries that have yet to begin issuing it to their own citizens.
The decision is expected to strengthen the implementation of the regional bloc’s free movement protocol, which allows citizens of member states to travel across participating countries without visas.
Although the biometric card was adopted in 2014, its implementation has remained slow, with only six member states — Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Benin, The Gambia and Sierra Leone — having deployed it as of 2024.
To ensure effective implementation, immigration authorities across the region are expected to issue instructions to border officials and provide the necessary equipment to verify biometric cards issued by other member states.
The declaration also calls for affordable card issuance, stronger links with national civil registration systems and wider coverage for citizens living in border communities and abroad.
ECOWAS further requested member states to submit their implementation plans, including target dates, to the commission by December 2030.
The commission is also expected to establish a monitoring and evaluation committee, finalise common technical specifications and develop a regional verification system to track implementation and border acceptance.
Speaking at the meeting, Sharon Dimanche, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration in Nigeria and to ECOWAS, said regional integration should be measured by the improvements travellers experience at border crossings.
Albert Siaw-Boateng, the commission’s Director of Free Movement of Persons and Migration, stressed that the effectiveness of the regional protocol depended on how member states implemented it.
The meeting was chaired by El Hadji Cheikh Drame of Senegal, who noted that free movement and border security were mutually reinforcing.
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Morie Lengor, also disclosed plans to introduce legislation replacing existing immigration laws with a Sierra Leone Immigration Service Act to strengthen the country’s implementation of the ECOWAS free movement regime.
The proposed legislation will be supported by 10 sets of implementing regulations.
The latest commitment represents another effort by ECOWAS to translate its regional integration policies into practical benefits for citizens, particularly travellers, traders and businesses operating across West Africa.
