Visa restriction lifted: U.S. restores Ghana visa validity to 5 years 

The United States Embassy in Ghana has announced the lifting of the visa restrictions placed on Ghanaians as it restores visa privileges to the country.

With this, the U.S. maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry.

The comes months after announcing a restriction that limited Ghanaians to a maximum of three-month single-entry visas.

The same restrictive measure was also imposed on Nigeria at the same time in July this year. However, no reprieve for Nigerians yet.

“The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaians have been restored to their previous lengths.  

“The maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry. The maximum validity for the F1 student visa is again four years, multiple entry,” the Embassy stated in post on its X handle on Saturday. 

Ghana’s Minister hails restoration 

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, while also announcing the development in a post on X, described the reversal as a result of months of diplomatic engagement.

“The U.S. visa restriction imposed on Ghana has been reversed. Ghanaians can now be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas and other enhanced consular privileges,” Ablakwa stated. 

“This good news was directly communicated to me by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, at a bilateral meeting earlier today, in the margins of the UN General Assembly. I am really pleased that months of high-level diplomatic negotiations have led to a successful outcome,” he added. 

Behind the deal 

Meanwhile, the restoration of visa privileges for Ghanians is being linked with the country’s recent decision to accept African deportees from the U.S.

• Reports indicated that the U.S. had pressured some African nations to accept deported migrants, including Venezuelan detainees from U.S. prisons.
• Early this month, Reuters reported that Ghana had agreed to accept West African nationals deported from the United States and 14 had already arrived in the country.
• According to the report, Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama did not specify a cap on how many deportees Ghana would accept. He justified the decision by saying West Africans “don’t need a visa anyway” to come to Ghana.
• However, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected these pressures, stating that Nigeria would not serve as a “dumping ground” for deportees.

“It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. “We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people,” Tuggar said during a televised interview. 

Aside from Ghana, Rwanda is reported to have also received seven migrants deported from the United States in August weeks after it reached an agreement the U.S. for the transfer of up to 250 people.

In July the U.S.  also deported five individuals to Eswatini and eight others to South Sudan.