Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced a significant reduction in passport application fees.
He also outlined a series of major reforms aimed at making passport acquisition more efficient, secure, and accessible to all Ghanaians.
He disclosed that the ordinary passport application fee would be reduced from GH?500.00 to GH?350.00 within the next three weeks, following the maturity of new fees and charges currently before Parliament.
Speaking during the commissioning of a temporary passport application centre in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, Mr Ablakwa said the reduction formed part of the government’s broader plan to ease the financial burden on citizens while improving service delivery.
“In less than 21 days, the new fees will come into force, and passport application fees for the ordinary passport will no longer be GH?500.00. It will be reduced to GH?350.00,” he announced.
Mr Ablakwa announced that the Ministry had introduced a courier delivery system, enabling applicants to receive their passports at home or in their offices without returning to passport offices.
He cautioned the public against paying any additional money to delivery officers, explaining that “the courier service fee has already been factored into the GH?350.00.”
“When they deliver your passport, all you have to do is to verify your identity with your Ghana Card and sign. You are not to pay even one cedi more.”
He further revealed that the Ministry had also introduced an e-tracking system that allows applicants to monitor the progress of their applications in real time, adding that processing times had been significantly shortened to 15 working days for regular service and three days for expedited applications.
Mr Ablakwa announced that Ghana had phased out the old biometric passports and replaced them with modern chip-embedded passports that complied with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.
He said: “The passports you will receive here in the Upper East Region are the latest chip-embedded types. They are secure, modern, and internationally recognised.
“You see the miracle of President Mahama, enhanced services, courier delivery, e-tracking, chip-embedded passports, and yet a reduction in price. The reset is real, and the Mahama magic is real.”
In addition, Mr Ablakwa revealed that all passport offices across the country had been digitally networked and integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) systems as part of strategies to address growing concerns about fraudulent passport applications.
He explained that under the new arrangement, anyone blacklisted in one region for attempting to obtain a passport fraudulently would automatically and immediately be flagged in all other regional centres.
“Once you are blacklisted here in Bolgatanga, that is it, you are blacklisted in the entire Republic of Ghana, we have tightened our security protocols, retrained all passport officers, and we are ahead of those attempting to acquire Ghanaian passports illegally,” he cautioned.
The Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that all 16 regions of Ghana have functional passport application centres by December 2025.
“As a social democratic government, we believe that development must be inclusive. No part of our country should be left behind in the forward march of our progress,” he stated.
He said the commissioning of the new passport application centre in Bolgatanga symbolised not just the decentralisation of services but also a renewed effort to make governance more responsive to citizens’ needs.
The event was attended by Mr Donatus Atanga Akamugri, the Upper East Regional Minister, traditional leaders, Members of Parliament, District Chief Executives, staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and members of the Alagumgube Association who championed the establishment of the airport in Bolgatanga.
Source: GNA
The post Passport application fees to be reduced – Minister appeared first on Ghana Business News.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS