Contrary to the belief the Ghana Card also functions as a form of passport that could enable bearer to gain entry to other countries, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has said otherwise.
She made this known to Parliament that the GhanaCard is not an E-passport while responding to a question by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu about whether the GhanaCard is an e-passport on June 14.
Responding, the minister said, “It is not. By its definition, it is not. The GhanaCard is not a replacement for our current biometric passport. GhanaCard may serve as an optional travel document to be used in tandem with our biometric passport.
“It must be underscored that the passport, together with the travel certificate is the only approved travel document for the Ghanaian, they are internationally recognized.
“At the moment, the GhanaCard cannot be used for travel to other countries either outside of ECOWAS as that will require bilateral agreement with countries for their authorities to accept the card as a travel document. The Ministry is in active discussion with ECOWAS member states and our bilateral partners to achieve this.”