Filling Of Landing Cards Abolished In Ghana

Ghana has abolished the filling for landing or arrival cards, Graphic Online has reported citing a notice from the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

A landing card is a legal document submitted to immigration officials upon arriving in a country.

It is a form which must be completed by passengers and used by immigration authorities to obtain certain information about an incoming passenger, which is not provided by the passenger’s passport.

In February this year, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia announced the process will be a thing of the past from March 31 but per the report by Graphic, the GIS from March 21, 2023, commenced a 10-day pilot of the new measure.

The Vice President said information on landing cards can be obtained electronically but the notice from the GIS reportedly said details including the traveller’s address in Ghana and abroad, telephone numbers, flight details (including airline and flight number), the purpose of the visit, and profession, would be taken from the passenger upon arrival at the airport.

The passenger will also be required to present his or her passport to a designated booth.

According to the veep, the removal of that process is one of Ghana’s ways of improving the competitiveness of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

“In addition, the processes that passengers go through at KIA are also going to be streamlined to drastically reduce the time spent by passengers and avoid duplication”, he said in a Facebook post in February.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini