Holders of the Ghanaian passport can now travel to about 50 countries without visa.
This number is expected to increase in the coming days as Ghana signs more visa waiver agreements with other countries.
This was disclosed by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on the sidelines of the ongoing AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 12.
This development, the Minister believes, will expand travel opportunities and boost trade for Ghanaian businesses as it increases the country’s relevance globally.
Expect more visa waiver agreements this year. Even within the month of March, you’ll be hearing some good news. April, some good news. May, there’ll be some good news. Expect more, he told journalists.
The arrangement includes totally visa-free, visa-on-arrival, and E-visa access.
The countries include Bahamas – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Bangladesh – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Barbados – 180 days visa-free stay allowed, Belize, Benin – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, British Virgin Islands, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia – 30 days, Cape Verde Islands – 90 days visa-free stay allowed (Requirement to register online 5 days before arrival), Cook Islands, Cote d’Ivoire – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Dominica – 180 days visa-free stay allowed, eSwatini – 30 days visa-free stay allowed, Fiji – 4 months visa-free stay allowed, Grenada – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Guinea – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Guinea-Bissau – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Guyana – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Haiti – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Jamaica – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Kenya – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Kiribati – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Liberia, Malawi – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Maldives – Free VOA, Mali Mauritius – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Micronesia – 30 days visa-free stay allowed, Niger, Nigeria, Palau Islands – Free VOA, Philippines – 30 days visa-free stay allowed, Rwanda – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Samoa – 60 days visa-free stay allowed Senegal – 90 days visa-free stay allowed.
The rest are; South Africa – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Tanzania – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Uganda – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Vanuatu – 120 days visa-free stay allowed, Zimbabwe – 90 days visa-free stay allowed, Zambia Visa On Arrival, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Macao (SAR China), Maldives, Namibia, Nicaragua, Palau Islands, Samoa, Somalia, St. Lucia, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu E-Visa, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mauritania, Moldova, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, São Tomé and Príncipe, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
According to Mr Ablakwa, We want the Ghanaian passport to be the most valued passport in Africa and one of the most valued anywhere in the world. And we are on course. We are very much on course.
He commended staff of the Ministry for their hard work and urged them to forge ahead.
I’m excited about the progress we are making, and I want to congratulate the team of diplomats I work with who are helping me in the negotiations and who are in the advance team doing a lot of heavy lifting as we negotiate with all of these countries. And I’m really excited about what we are achieving with visa waivers since I became foreign minister, he noted.
He also touted the security features of the new passport.
Remember that the passport itself, many people do not know that it is now probably the most secure in terms of the security features we have. It’s now fully chip-embedded, no longer biometric, and we are ahead of so many countries, Mr Ablakwa stressed.
At its core, a visa waiver allows citizens to travel between countries without the lengthy and often costly process of securing a visa in advance.
For Ghanaian businesses, this means easier access to new markets. Tourism also stands to grow, as reciprocal arrangements encourage more visitors into Ghana, supporting hospitality, aviation and related industries.
Source: 3news
