Comptroller-General of GIS, Kwame Asuah Takyi
Ghana Card holders and dual nationals arriving in the country but also holding the valid citizenship identity card will be allowed in by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) with effect from today.
This announcement from the GIS is a further impetus for the status of the Ghana Card.
The announcement was contained in a statement signed by the GIS’ Head of Public Relations, Superintendent Amoako Atta, who added that the decision followed “the official recognition of the Ghana Card as an ICAO-compliant travel document.”
As an optional travel document, the identity card is also referred to as an E-Passport because it plays some roles of the Ghanaian travel document.
The GIS explained in the statement that “until bilateral agreements are signed with other countries, the Ghana Card cannot be used to travel outside the ECOWAS sub-region.”
Ghanaians who have renounced their Ghanaian citizenship to obtain the citizenship of another country, the GIS explained, “are not eligible to travel on the Ghana Card.”
Dual nationals holding the Ghana Card will not require visas to enter Ghana, the statement added.
Regarding procedures for those arriving on the Ghana Card, the GIS explained that “there shall be designated booths at the Kotoka International Airport to process Ghanaian passengers who travel on the Ghana Card into Ghana.”
Upon their arrival, the identity of holders of Ghana Card will be verified against the National Identity Register (NIR) following which successful verification, the passenger will be admitted into the country.
Departure Formalities
On departure, the Ghanaian who entered Ghana with the Ghana Card, the GIS states, “will be required to show the Ghana Card to the Immigration officials at the Immigration Departure Control.”
Caution
A passenger who arrives in Ghana with a fraudulently acquired or fake Ghana Card will be denied entry and/or arrested and prosecuted in accordance with applicable laws, the statement warned.
Under Section 52 of Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573), it is an offence for a person to fraudulently acquire or use a forged or fake travel document, and convicted offenders may be fined and/or imprisoned, the GIS advises.
End Of Vicious Campaign
With this statement from the GIS, and previous ones especially from ICAO, those who embarked upon a campaign to discredit the originators of the project will have no dust to throw into the eyes of the public anymore. The Ghana Card, as an E-Passport, albeit with some limitations such not admissible for the acquisition of visas at foreign missions, is real and not fake.
BY A.R. Gomda