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The United States State Department has announced plans to significantly reduce the number of embassies and consulates in Africa that handle visa processing for foreign travellers.
According to the Associated Press (AP), citing officials and an internal memo, the current nearly 50 US diplomatic missions processing visa applications across Africa will be reduced to 20 in the coming weeks.
The decision was reportedly communicated to US diplomats, including consular chiefs, during a conference call last Friday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio said to have approved the directive.
The memo listed the 20 remaining visa-processing hubs as Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti, Djibouti; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Kinshasa, Congo; Lagos, Nigeria; Lome, Togo; Luanda, Angola; Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Monrovia, Liberia; Nairobi, Kenya; Port Louis, Mauritius; Praia, Cape Verde; and Yaounde, Cameroon.
Although the exact implementation timeline has not been confirmed, the changes are expected to take effect in June.
The move comes months after the Trump administration recalled ambassadors from over two dozen countries, including Nigeria, in a diplomatic reshuffle that heavily affected Africa.
It also follows broader US restrictions on immigration, including measures requiring some African nationals, including Nigerians, to pay bonds of up to $15,000 for certain visa categories.
Several African countries are also currently subject to partial US travel restrictions.
Under the new arrangement, applicants from affected countries will need to travel to designated hub locations for visa processing, a change expected to increase costs and logistical challenges.
While consular services in non-hub countries will remain operational, they will be limited to assisting US citizens, handling emergency requests, select national interest cases, and diplomatic visa services, according to the AP report.
