Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has called for improved treatment of Ghanaian visa applicants, stressing that diplomatic missions and visa centres must protect the dignity of citizens seeking travel documents.
Mr Ablakwa made the call after visiting the VFS Global Visa Application Centre in Accra as part of a working tour to assess the conditions and experiences of Ghanaian visa applicants.
The visit formed part of the Minister’s wider engagement with more than 20 embassies and visa application centres in Accra.
During the visit, Mr Ablakwa toured the facility, interacted with applicants and staff, and observed the processes involved in submitting and processing visa applications.
He said the exercise provided an opportunity to obtain first-hand information on the experiences of Ghanaians and identify areas requiring improvement.
The Minister said he would engage Heads of Missions in the coming days to discuss the findings from his visits and explore ways of improving the visa application experience.
“I must acknowledge that substantial progress has been made by some missions,” Mr Ablakwa said.
He, however, emphasised that while diplomatic missions retained the authority to determine which applicants qualified for visas, that discretion should not come at the expense of the dignity of Ghanaian applicants.
“As I have always emphasised, it is the prerogative of diplomatic missions to determine who qualifies for their visas, I shall not interfere with that. Nonetheless, they must take concrete steps to ensure the dignity of Ghanaians is safeguarded,” he said.
The Minister’s engagements form part of efforts by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to address concerns surrounding the treatment and overall experience of Ghanaians who access foreign visa services in the country.
The VFS Global centre provides administrative visa application services on behalf of various diplomatic missions, while final decisions on visa applications remain the responsibility of the respective missions.
