Ghana has launched an electronic visa (e-Visa) application system, introducing a 48-hour processing period for business and tourist visa applications.
“Effective immediately, all holders of African passports travelling to Ghana for business or tourism will apply for visas exclusively via the new online e-Visa platform, and they will pay no visa fee,” President John Dramani Mahama stated at the launch ceremony on Monday.
The launch, held in Accra on Monday [May 25, 2026] formed part of the government’s efforts to modernise Ghana’s immigration and border management system and promote travel and trade across the African continent.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said applicants who submit all required documents through the online platform would receive visa decisions within 48 hours.
He said the service fee for applicants outside Africa had been set at US$260.
All African passport holders are exempt from paying visa fees to enter Ghana under the new arrangement.
The decision forms part of Ghana’s Pan-African agenda and Africa Day celebrations.
“You will know within 48 hours whether your visa has been approved or not,” Mr Ablakwa said.
African travellers will still be required to complete the online application process and undergo security screening before travelling to Ghana.
The e-visa platform currently covers business and tourist visas only.
Diplomatic passport holders, nationals from countries with bilateral visa waiver agreements with Ghana, as well as holders of student and family visas, will continue to use existing arrangements.
Mr Ablakwa said Ghana had signed visa waiver agreements with about 50 countries and those agreements would remain unaffected.
Mr Ablakwa said the system complied with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization and included biometric and fraud prevention features.
He added that Cabinet had approved the initiative following a joint submission by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Transport.
On financing, Mr Ablakwa said the platform was being operated under a public-private partnership with Rock Africa, with the private company funding the setup cost and recovering its investment through service charges over time.
“Taxpayers have not been burdened,” he said.
Mr Ablakwa also dismissed claims on social media suggesting that the government had cancelled an existing e-visa contract which could result in a judgement debt.
He said investigations conducted by the government established that no previous e-visa contract existed.
According to him, the only agreement on record related to machine-readable visa stickers and not an electronic visa platform.
“There will be no judgement debt. No contract has been cancelled,” Mr Ablakwa said.
The Minister of Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, described the launch as a major step in improving Ghana’s border management system.
He said the platform would help move Ghana away from manual visa processing to a technology-driven system capable of identifying security risks before travelers arrive in the country.
“Before a traveler even boards a plane, we already know who is coming. We assess the risks early, we identify threats early, and we act early,” he said.
Mr Muntaka told officers of the Ghana Immigration Service that the system was intended to reduce manual processing work and allow personnel to concentrate on intelligence gathering and enforcement duties.
The Minister of Transport, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, said the e-Visa platform had been integrated with the Advanced Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record systems introduced at the Accra International Airport in August 2025.
According to him, the arrangement would allow passenger information to be transmitted to border control agencies for screening before passengers board flights to Ghana.
Source: graphic.com.gh
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