In a bid to digitalise the Ghanaian experience, the government of Ghana, effective today the 1st of March 2022, has declared the National Identity Card, also known as the Ghana Card, as a valid ID card-passport. Consequently, the card will be accepted in around 44,000 airports around the world as legal documents for entry into Ghana.
On the 9th of February 2022, a “Key Ceremony” was held at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal, Canada to officially recognise the Ghana Card globally. The card is a Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD) that can be read and verified by the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) at most airports around the world.
Contrary to public misunderstandings, this only means that Ghanaians in the diaspora, who until now needed a Ghanaian passport and a visa to travel back home, will now be able to use their Ghana Card to travel back to Ghana without a visa.
Ghana Airport Company Limited has sent out a notification asking all airports and international airlines operating to Ghana to allow holders of the Ghana Card to board flights to Ghana, following the card’s recognition by ICAO as an international Machine Readable Travel Document.
The card is also legally sufficient for travel to countries who are members of the ECOWAS. To other African and non-African countries however, a valid book passport and visa is needed.
