AMU - Free Movement of Persons

The progressive realisation of the free movement of persons is one of the main objectives of AMU. Three AMU member States have implemented the freedom of movement protocol, namely, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Of these, Tunisia is currently the only state that allows citizens from fellow member States to access its territories freely. [1] The remaining require a travel visa for residents of member States. Moreover, permission to reside in the territory of a member State must be obtained by applying for a permanent or temporary residence permit from the authorities of the concerned State.[2]

Challenges to implementation include infrastructural constraints, in particular road transport as the high occurrence of roadblocks set up by national security forces and illegal blockades as well as other insecurities in the region that has impeded the process. In this regard, member States point to security issues as the primary reason for delaying the free movement of person’s scheme in the AMU region[3].