The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has hinted at a possible rise in passport application fees.
Production costs and higher fees charged by other countries in the sub-region are the reasons for the imminent increment. This was disclosed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, November 28, he said “Liberia charges $50, we charge $8, meaning we have to subsidize every passport. So the money to buy the printers is used to subsidize the passports… And also, we are thinking of upgrading our passport from biometric to chip-embedded.
“So the chip-embedded version is going to cost more. If we continue charging at $8, we will continue to face the problems that we are having at the passport office… So we have to raise the fees,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has said that the visa-free regime for all foreign nationals traveling into Ghana starts December 1, 2023, as part of the ‘December in Ghana’ launched by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and aims at welcoming visitors.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Ampratwum Sarpong, said that the move was to lessen the frustrations of travelers.
“Anybody who wants to come to Ghana can take advantage,” he said.
He further explained that “December of late, it’s become a month of activity, big activity in the country and it’s a month that a lot of our compatriots living outside the country take advantage to come in and enjoy the Christmas festivities.”
The visa-free regime will last till the end of December, Mr Ampratwum said.
“Looking at the trend and the number of people over the years that have been coming into the country, there have been complaints of frustrations at the various missions abroad in getting visas on time to be able to get down here and have a good time.
“And being a responsive government, we’ve looked at it and we think one of the best things that we can do is to lessen the frustrations of their travel to their home base and make it possible for them to get down here and get their visas.
“Because if you arrive today, give and take, in about an hour, you should be able to go through the processes of getting your visa on arrival. So this is just for December,” Ampratwum Sarpong noted.
The Ministry earlier expressed deep concern regarding reports of extortion and mistreatment faced by certain passport applicants at various Passport Application Centers (PACs).
To address this pressing issue, the Ministry has established channels for affected applicants to report such incidents for prompt resolution.
Applicants who encounter mistreatment or extortion are encouraged to provide detailed information, including the names of officers and PAC locations, through the following communication channels: ipab@mfa.gov.gh, 024-091-3284, 024-079-3072, 020-455-2056, 020-455-2750, 026-804-9031, and 026-979-4871.
The Ministry emphasized that legitimate passport applications are processed through the official passport application portal, passport.mfa.gov.gh. Payments for approved processing fees are exclusively made through the ghana.gov.gh platform, with fees set at GH¢100.00 for the 32-page booklet and GH¢150.00 for the 48-page booklet. Importantly, all payments are electronic and not in cash.
As part of preventive measures, the Ministry announced that all officers at the PACs will be required to wear name tags, enhancing transparency and accountability. The public is cautioned against engaging with individuals who cannot present proper identification through issued name tags, as these intermediaries, commonly referred to as “Goro boys,” are unauthorized.
Applicants are strongly advised to adhere to the official channels for passport acquisition and avoid involving unauthorized intermediaries in the application process. The Ministry underscored its commitment to improving the system by enforcing its policy of annual rotation for PAC officers. Officers who have exceeded a year of service will be promptly replaced.
It’s crucial to note that regular applications submitted through PACs do not incur additional charges. However, applicants have the option to utilize Premium PACs, with an added fee of GH¢150.00 payable in cash at the Premium Centers for their specialized services.
