Immigration
ECOWAS free movement, and the 2015 migrant smuggling law now repealed
ECOWAS nationals enter visa-free for 90 days. Niger's Loi 2015-36 criminalising migrant smuggling, adopted under European pressure, was repealed in 2023, restoring the previous position on transit through Agadez.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire administers entry and residence.
- Deadline — Carte de séjour: within three months of arrival
- Deadline — ECOWAS 90-day visa-free entry: subject to the announced ECOWAS withdrawal
Governing law
- Loi n° 2015-36 relative au trafic illicite de migrantsrepealed in 2023
- ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons 1979
- OAU Convention on Refugees 1969
In practice
Niger was the principal transit state on the central Mediterranean route, and the 2015 smuggling law was a central instrument of EU externalised migration control, prosecuting transport that was lawful movement between ECOWAS states for much of its journey. Its repeal in 2023 by the transitional authorities reversed that policy and illustrates how ECOWAS free movement and European border objectives pull in opposite directions.