The Spokesperson of the office for the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Dr. Gideon Boako, has called on Ghanaians to disregard the wrong interpretation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the Ghana e-passport.
The ICAO had stated in a tweet that it is not in their capacity to certify the use of a State’s Identity Card for international travel in place of a passport. Instead, it is the sovereign right of each individual State to accept specified National ID cards as identity documents during air travel base on bilateral agreement issuing and receiving states.
Following this, there has been divided opinions in the Ghanaian community with many coming to a conclusion that the Ghana Card cannot be used for travelling purposes.
However, in a response to the misconception, Dr. Gideon Boako said last Wednesday’s ceremony held at Montreal, Canada, to have the Ghana Card, captured in the ICAO’s Public Key Directory (PKD) was the final step to accept the card as a travelling document.
According to him, the Ghana Card has gone through all stages of certification that any holder of the Card can board a flight anywhere in the world into the country, just as with the normal biometric passport, without the need for a visa.
Dr. Gideon Boako, therefore cited ICAO’s additional statement that Ghana has crossed the major millstone in efforts to provide for more international acceptance of its biometric electronic travel documents as “not inconsistent with official communication from government.”
Below is the full statements
Gideon Boako, Ph.D writes
Ignore the wrong interpretation of ICAO’s statement, Ghanacard is valid for travel as e-passport.
Just like our current normal booklet passport you will need ICAO to approve and capture the data into their Public Key Directory (PKD) for certification before any country can accept it as official travel documents. Such key ceremony certification as was done on 9th February in the case of the Ghanacard is the ultimate step to take before any national identity card/passport can be used for travelling purposes. Ghana has crossed this stage with respect to the Ghanacard making it officially certified as having the right qualities to be admissible by receiving countries as e-passport subject to country-to-country bilateral agreements. Through the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), official communication has gone to all border ports that Ghana as a receiving country is accepting holders of the Ghanacard into Ghana. The statement by ICAO that Ghana has crossed the major millstone in efforts to provide for more international acceptance of its biometric electronic travel documents is therefore not inconsistent with official communication from government.
In practical terms, the holder of a Ghanacard will be allowed to board a flight to Ghana (receiving country) from any airport, just as with the normal biometric passport, without the need for a visa.
Also, Diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghanacard will not require a visa to travel to Ghana.
Within ECOWAS the Ghanacard can be used to travel to any country. Traveling outside ECOWAS however, will require that you use your normal biometric passport which will contain your visas.
In the not too distant future, we expect that electronic visas will be issued under ICAO 2.0 protocols. When this starts, electronic visas could be issued on the Ghanacard under bilateral arrangements with other countries.
