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West African citizens still need no visa on arrival in Ghana: FM

Xinhua, April 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanna Serwaa Tetteh reiterated on Thursday that citizens of West African States are not required to apply for visas on arrival in the country, contrary to reports making the rounds in Nigeria.

Online media in Nigeria reported that Nigerian nationals travelling to Ghana would have to apply for visa on arrival effective July this year.

"We wish to state that this is not the case," Tetteh said in a statement.

She said all Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) citizens would continue to be allowed entry into Ghana as per the provisions of the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement of persons, residence and establishment, which allows citizens of West Africa to travel within the region without having to obtain visas prior to undertaking their journey.

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama announced in February his country's decision to allow citizens of member-states of the African Union (AU) to enter Ghana and obtain visas on arrival, with the option to stay for up to 30 days.

The objective of this policy initiative, which has received commendation from the AU Commission, was to open up Ghana to the rest of the continent to stimulate increased air travel, trade, investments and tourism.

Tetteh believes some may have interpreted this new policy measure as one that will be applicable to all citizens of AU member-states; however, this is not the case.

"We therefore wish to assure citizens of ECOWAS member-states, including citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that they are welcome to travel to Ghana, and their entry into the country will not be affected by this new policy initiative we intend to introduce later this year," she said. Enditem