Ministry proposes 544% increase in passport application fees

 Ministry proposes 544% increase in passport application fees

The Parliament is considering requesting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to examine the current passport application fees, which are currently GH¢100–GH¢644.

This represents a 544% rise.

The Committee on Subsidiary Legislation is presently debating the idea, which would allow the ministry to reduce losses associated with passport booklet printing.

It's time for Ghanaians to pay reasonable fees for passports they obtain so they can travel starting next year, stated Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey during a Thursday speech in Parliament.

She claimed the reason for this was that the state could no longer afford to continue subsidizing passports because of the economic constraints on money.

"Ghanaians pay approximately GH¢100 for a passport, but it costs GH¢400 to produce one passport booklet. This means that the government must spend GH¢300 for each passport an applicant obtains, and this is not sustainable," the speaker stated.

This was said by the minister prior to her ministry's GH¢1.127 million budget estimates being approved.

Charges from other nations

Ghana's passport fee, at $7.7, is the lowest in the sub-region when compared to other West African nations, according to a report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the ministry's 2024 budget estimates.

The study stated that Burkina Faso ($80), Nigeria ($54.29), Guinea ($57), Cameroon ($180), and Guinea-Bissau ($65) all had fees.

Speaking outside the Chamber to Nana Konadu Agyeman of Graphic Online, Ms. Ayorkor Botchwey claimed that the present passport fees in Ghana were not enough to cover the costs of manufacture.

She emphasized that the Passport Office was not receiving the necessary investments because of the shortage in passport booklet printing.

We all have a national ID, thus passports are no longer a reliable means of identification. As a result, everybody who requires a passport and applies for one does so with the aim of traveling.

Therefore, she said, "it is unfortunate if you are going to travel or intend to travel and you cannot pay GH¢400 because even tickets are now expensive."

Additionally, the minister pleaded with Ghanaians who were not eager to go, saying, "Please do not go for passports.

Focusing on giving applicants attentive services, Ms. Botchwey mentioned that Ghanaians had voiced dissatisfaction with the ministry's services and surroundings at passport application centers.

 

She noted that the ministry has given applicants choices for consular services, passports, visas, or attestations in order to address this difficulty.

"We have given them the choice to visit a premium center where they can receive world-class frontend services in the comfort of their own home by paying a fee to the service provider," the spokesperson stated.