Free Visa Isn’t the Same as Visa-free- Foreign Minister Clarifies
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has clarified the government’s free visa policy for African countries.
Addressing the press, he acknowledged that the policy recently announced had been misconstrued as a visa-free policy.
“There are a lot of misconceptions out there. People say we are going to be swarmed. They are confusing a free visa with visa-free. Free Visa means if you are an African, you don’t pay the cost for the visa, whereas our friends from other parts of the world will be paying about $250 when we roll out the e-visa regime.”
He clarified that the US and African countries will not be required to pay the $250 visa fee; however, they must undergo a comprehensive visa application process similar to that of other applicants.
“You will go through, you will be vetted, and our consular officers will screen you to make sure you meet the requirements and don’t have any criminal record because the system is linked to multiple criminal databases.”
He noted that Ghanaian consular officers reserve their rights to either approve or disapprove the visa applications.
“If you have any record and if we think that we are not convinced as to exactly what your agenda is, we still reserve the right to stop you inasmuch as we are welcoming everybody.”
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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