The topic of how much it should cost for residents to obtain passports has come up again after Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the minister of foreign affairs and regional integration, paid an unexpected visit to the passport office in Accra recently.
The minister fired some employees who had been seconded to the Passport Office because he was furious that there were persons working there who had made it their personal mission to overcharge and extort unwary applicants.
According to reports, those fired were allegedly involved in corrupt activities.
“Reports that officers, and there are nine or so agencies represented in any passport application centre… these people are involved in illegal activities, and when I say illegal activities, we know just two days ago the report in Daily Guide that the issue of goro people involved in our passport acquisition process has become rife. It is wrong.
“How can 100 Ghana for standard service of passport acquisition and 150 for expedited service be bumped up to 2,000 and 3,000? I hear they don’t even charge 2,000 now; they are charging 3000 and it is wrong.
“But I can say and we all will agree that a goro person is outside the passport office and they need somebody inside to work with, they cannot do it on their own, people are paying 2,000, 3,000 to acquire a passport, why should this be so?” she said.
What you actually need to pay to get a passport:
Although the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, spoke about what charges that applicants for passports have to pay, GhanaWeb has gone further to make some checks from the official website of the ministry.
On the ‘Passports’ section of the ministry website, it indicates the specific amounts that must be paid for the passports, including details on the application types, passport application centres, and sample documents.
Under the Application Types, for instance, the available types of passports advertised, and their corresponding fees, are: expedited application 48 pages at GH¢200; expedited application 32 pages at GH¢150, standard application 32 pages at GH¢100, and standard application 48 pages at GH¢150.
The page also details all the locations of passport offices across the country.
See the lists below:
Also, below is information on What you need to apply for the passport:
1. Birth Certificate(Proof of Ghanaian citizenship)
2. Documents to support Identity such as Driver’s Licence, National ID card
3. Proof of Profession (An introductory letter from the applicant’s employer that is if the applicant is currently employed or a work ID card that bears applicant’s name, organisation’s name and position. A student ID if the applicant is currently in school. Homemakers/housewives and applicants that are unemployed and those in the non-formal sector of employment like mechanics, hairdressers seamstresses, traders etc. do not need proof. Registered Business Owners and self-employed applicants must produce their business registration certificate as proof)