Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has indicated that individuals who possess the Ghana Card will no longer need to submit a separate application for a passport.
Speaking at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) in Accra today, the Vice President said; “If you a holder of a Ghanacard,
you will not need to apply separately for a passport. You just provide Your Ghanacard number and pay the fee through
your mobile phone.
“This is because the Ghanacard contains all the information and biometrics required for a regular passport. Your passport can then be delivered to your home using your digital address
He indicated that so far, Ghana has about 4.5 million passport holders and 17 million people enrolled on the Ghanacard (which is also an e- passport).
In November 2021, Dr Bawmia noted that the Ghana card is set to be recognized as an electronic passport in 197 countries by 2022.
Delivering a public lecture on the digital economy at Ashesi University on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, the Vice President said this will make travelling for Ghanaians in the diaspora more convenient.
“The Ghana card will be recognized as an e-passport and can be read and verified in all [International Civil Aviation Organization] ICAO compliant borders (in 197 countries and 44,000 airports in the world). When this happens, holders of the Ghana card will be allowed to board any flight to Ghana.”
“Furthermore, the good news for diasporan Ghanaians is that when the Ghana Immigration Service is linked to the NIA architecture, diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghana card should not have to obtain visas to travel to Ghana.”
In his recent address, the Vice president touted the role of digitalisation in the acquisition of passport.
“When you look at the Passport Office, we have digitalized the passport office with oversight from my office.
“The average turnaround for the acquisition of a passport has been significantly reduced, and today you can apply for a passport online from your home 24 hours a day.
“The ultimate objective is to eradicate human interface in all phases of the passport application process to give true meaning to the online filing and processing of forms,” he said.