Somalia Cleared to Issue East African Community Passports, Boosting Regional Integration

Somalia cleared to issue East African Community passports, boosting regional mobility

Wednesday February 18, 2026

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia has received formal approval to issue East African Community (EAC) passports, a key step in the country’s regional integration and a move officials say will ease cross-border travel for Somali citizens across the bloc.

The authorization was conveyed in an official letter presented by Somalia’s ambassador to Tanzania and permanent representative to the EAC, Ilyas Ali Hassan. He handed the document to Internal Security Minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, known as Fartaag, and to the director general of the Immigration and Citizenship Agency, Mustafa Sheikh Ahmed Dhuuxulow.

The approval allows Somalia to print and distribute EAC-branded passports, a process authorities say began in December 2025. The new passport is designed to align Somalia with the EAC’s common market framework, which seeks to support freer movement of people, goods and services within the region.

“This marks a significant diplomatic achievement for the Federal Government of Somalia and strengthens regional integration,” Ambassador Ilyas said in a statement posted on social media.

Somalia formally became the eighth member of the EAC on March 4, 2024, after depositing its instrument of ratification. The country was admitted by EAC heads of state on Nov. 24, 2023. Current members include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Access to the EAC passport system is considered a practical milestone of membership. The document is recognized across member states and is tied to efforts to harmonize immigration procedures and promote labor mobility under the bloc’s integration agenda.

Officials did not immediately release rollout timelines or application guidance beyond confirming that production has started. The Immigration and Citizenship Agency is expected to outline procedures as distribution expands.

What the EAC passport means for Somali travelers:

• Recognition across EAC member states as a regional travel document, in line with the bloc’s standards.
• Closer alignment with the EAC Common Market protocols that underpin freer movement of people within the region.
• Support for ongoing efforts to harmonize immigration procedures among member countries, aimed at smoother border processing.

The EAC’s broader goals include deepening economic cooperation, expanding trade, improving infrastructure links and enhancing political coordination among members. For Somalia, which sits on the region’s strategic coastline, participation offers a route to more open markets and closer institutional ties after a period of intensive diplomatic engagement to join the bloc.

While the EAC passport is a symbolic and functional step, the practical benefits will depend on how quickly member states align border management systems and how Somalia phases in the new document domestically. Authorities emphasized that the move is part of a wider integration process that advances in stages.

Somalia’s approval to issue the regional passport follows a year of rapid steps into the EAC architecture, from ratification to operational coordination with the Arusha-based secretariat. With production already under way, attention now shifts to implementation — and to whether the new document speeds up travel and work opportunities for Somali nationals across East Africa.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.