Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Minister of Foreign Affairs has announced that the government has rolled out a new visa policy, under which applications will now be processed within a maximum of five working days.
In a post shared on his X page on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, and as sighted by GhanaWeb Business, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated that the measures take immediate effect and are intended to address longstanding delays in visa processing, which often took between four to six weeks.
“We have put in place adequate measures at our diplomatic missions to drastically cut down the visa processing time from the troubling average of four to six weeks to our new five-day directive,” Ablakwa wrote.
He explained that the shorter processing period does not guarantee automatic approval, but rather applicants will receive a decision, either approval or denial, within five working days of submitting their request.
“A decision will be made within five working days as to whether one is eligible for a Ghanaian visa or not,” he added.
He noted that the Ministry is working to give practical meaning to the directive by removing unnecessary delays and making consular services more responsive.
He said, “As Foreign Minister, I want to make Ghana a more attractive destination for investors and tourists by removing the bureaucratic hurdles that have discouraged many over the years.”
The move forms part of President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge that “Ghana is opened for business” during his January 7 inaugural speech.
Ghana’s New Reset Visa Policy.
Visa applications to travel to Ghana will now be processed within a maximum of 5 working days.
This new visa policy takes immediate effect.
We have put in place adequate measures at our diplomatic missions to drastically cut down the visa…
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) May 21, 2025
SP/MA
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