In a statement released by Francis Palmdeti, Head of Public Affairs of
the Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana has kick-started a new visa policy
which states that foreign nationals from the African Union member states
can now travel to Ghana and be issued with visas on arrival.
The
visa-on-arrival decision by the Ghanaian government was in fulfillment of
a resolution adopted at the AU Executive Council meeting held earlier
this year in Addis Ababa,
which stipulates that AU Member States should
review their internal and external security realities in an attempt to
implement mechanisms allowing for the issuing of visas on arrival for
citizens of member states, with the possibility of a 30-day stay.
The
President of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, announced the decision in
his State of the Nations address to the Ghanaian Parliament on 25
February 2016. “With effect from July this year, we will be allowing
citizens of AU Member States to enter – our country and obtain visas on
arrival with the option to stay for up to thirty days and experience
what our country has to offer. This measure, with time, should stimulate
air travel, trade, investment and tourism” he said.
Francis
Palmdeti said the arrangement would be piloted at the Kotoka
International Airport in Accra for three months, and thereafter extended
to all other entry points of the country. “All AU nationals affected by
this policy who arrive in the country must have a passport, valid for
at least three months, from the date of entry; they must have a return
ticket or evidence of onward travel. Travellers must show evidence of
sufficient funds and proof of accommodation before they are granted
visas’.’