Immigration
Non-ECOWAS mobility with CPLP ties and visa-free access for EU nationals
Cabo Verde is an ECOWAS member but geographically separate, and applies its own entry regime: EU nationals enter visa-free, others use an online pre-registration and airport security fee. CPLP membership provides mobility with lusophone states.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Direção de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras administers entry and residence.
- Deadline — EASE pre-registration: completed before travel for visa-exempt visitors
- Deadline — Residence authorisation: applied for through the Direção de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras
Governing law
- Lei n° 66/VIII/2014 que aprova o regime jurídico de entrada, permanência e saída de estrangeiros
- CPLP Mobility Agreement 2021
- ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons 1979
In practice
Cabo Verde occupies an unusual position: an ECOWAS member that abolished visas for EU nationals to support tourism, and a CPLP member with mobility rights across the lusophone world including Brazil and Portugal. It also has a special partnership agreement with the European Union covering mobility and readmission, which no other ECOWAS state has.