There is confusion in the West African Country of Ghana, as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), has denied a pronouncement made by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that the international body has endorsed the use of the National Identification Card also known as Ghana Card, as an e-passport to be globally accepted as a means of identification for nationals.
According to atqnews.com, the Vice President had earlier in November 2021 hinted that Ghanaians anywhere in the world would soon be able to travel back home using their Ghana cards. Dr Bawumia had indicated that Ghana was expecting the certificate from ICAO by the end of the first quarter of 2022 and that, apart from acting as the major source of proof of identity, the Ghana Card will be used as an e-passport for Ghanaian citizens, all things being equal, by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
This means the Ghana Card, which is a unique biometric identification card, will be accepted as an e-passport in 197 borders globally and 44,000 airports in the world.
Holders of the Ghana Card will be allowed to board any flight to Ghana by just showing the card.
But in a reaction the civil aviation body said that conversation at the function were distorted by the media.
The body further dismissed media reports proposing that it has supported the utilization of the National Identification Card, as an e-passport.
“Any decision to accept such alternative travel identity document is made by the receiving state itself,” ICAO further explained.
But the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), has come out to clarify the rebuttal by ICAO, saying that the international body wrongly interpreted the statement by the government.
“Through the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), official communication has gone to all border ports that Ghana as a receiving country is accepting holders of the Ghanacard into Ghana.
The statement by ICAO that Ghana has crossed the major millstone in efforts to provide for more international acceptance of its biometric electronic travel documents is therefore not inconsistent with official communication from government.
In practical terms, the holder of a Ghanacard will be allowed to board a flight to Ghana (receiving country) from any airport, just as with the normal biometric passport, without the need for a visa.
Also, Diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghanacard will not require a visa to travel to Ghana.
Within ECOWAS the Ghanacard can be used to travel to any country. Traveling outside ECOWAS however, will require that you use your normal biometric passport which will contain your visas.
In the not too distant future, we expect that electronic visas will be issued under ICAO 2.0 protocols. When this starts, electronic visas could be issued on the Ghanacard under bilateral arrangements with other countries. “
