Immigration Service resumes issuance of Emergency Entry Visas
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has resumed the issuance of Emergency Entry Visas (EEVs).
It comes after President Akufo-Addo announced the re-opening of the Kotoka International Airport to the traveling community on September 1, 2020.
The closure of the country’s borders was part of efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Due to the closure of the borders, the GIS temporarily suspended the issuance of the EEV in compliance with the government’s efforts to stop the importation of COVID-19 into the country.
In a statement issued and signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the Immigration Service, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, all requirements for acquiring EEV remain unchanged.
The Emergency Entry Visa (EEV) is a type of visa granted on an emergency basis. It is issued under the following conditions:
- Where Ghana has no mission or consulate or where Ghana has a representative but the entry into Ghana is being sought on an emergency assignment from the country where the person is coming.
Persons Eligible
Any foreign national who is not:
- A prohibited immigrant
- In possession of a valid passport/travel document.
It may include any other conditions set out in the Immigration Act 573 (Act 2000) and specified in section four (4) of the Immigration Regulation 1691 of 2001 and its sub-sections.
In the statement, the service advised the general public to “at all-times deal with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), and to demand for receipt for the EEV issued to them and ensure that the appropriate visa stickers are affixed in their passports”.
“It, therefore, wishes to admonish the traveling community and the general public to be wary of fraudsters who put up as middlemen issuing Emergency Entry Visas in the name of the Ghana Immigration Service. Any applicant who transacts business with such persons do so at his/her own risk,” the GIS further warned.
In conclusion, the service urged “all travelers arriving and departing the country to adhere to all protocol arrangements at the KIA, including the mandatory polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19”.