By the end of the year, Ghana will have modernized visa application and issuance processes thanks to the delivery of an innovative E-Visa system that will be placed at the airport and the Ghana Immigration Service Data Centers.
The final stage of the 2020-launched e-visa project comprises installing the appropriate hardware that will read data from applicants from all over the world into a database and allow the Ghana Immigration Service to accept or reject visas at the point of origin.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, stated that the new system will improve the security characteristics of Ghana’s visa regime in an interview with TV3 at the introduction of the Site Acceptance Test (SAT).
“The new system will have all your relevant data just like the visas you get when you apply to the UK or the US. That’s what we’re starting with. We need to able to get a good data base of the people who come here. Our systems in our missions abroad and immigration in Ghana need to be synchronized to prevent people from faking our visas.
“The current visa stickers we use are hand written and it’s a major problem for us where some people are even able to fake our visas and its difficult for us to detect. This will be a thing of the past,” she noted.
Upon successful completion of the installation of the equipment in Ghana and its subsequent testing, Ghana’s missions in London, UK and Berlin, Germany will be the first to start issuing the e-visas to applicants coming to Ghana.
After the trial period, this will be rolled out to all of Ghana’s missions globally. The Foreign Minister said “when we have a good data base of people who are frequent visitors the decision will be made on when to start issuing electronic visas.”
The Ghana Immigration Service on their part say the new system will expedite the application process and help with the immediate detection and prevention of unscrupulous persons who would want to enter Ghana.
Michael Amoako Atta, Head of Public Relations of the Ghana Immigration Service told TV3 the new system will also help protect and secure data gathered from applicants and “access the system to get any information needed of suspicious individuals which can then be sent to the national security for further investigations. It will also help us safeguard the country and prevent unwanted miscreants.”
Ghana will by the end of the year join over 60 countries that issue e-visas and will be the fifth in Africa to do so.
