Ghana Card as e-passport for citizens flying back starts on March 1 – GACL announces

The GACL, following this week’s Key Ceremony at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada to officially recognise the Ghana Card as a Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD), the GCAA, in an official notice to international airlines and airports, has confirmed that Ghanaians can start using their Ghanacard from March 1st, to travel to Ghana from other countries.

This directive also means that Ghanaians in the diaspora, who hitherto, needed a Ghanaian passport and a visa to travel back home, will now be able to use their Ghana Cards to travel back to Ghana without a visa.

The GACL’s notification asked all airports and international airlines operating in 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 GACL has also sent a separate notification on the new directive to the IATA Timatic Team, for publication on the IATA Timatic Platform “for the general information of all concerned.”

The latest directive by the GACA has paved the final way for airports and airlines to start recognising the Ghana Card as an e-passport.

Below is the notice by the GACL

ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES ON USE OF GHANA CARD AS AN ICAO-COMPLIANT MACHINE READABLE TRAVEL DOCUMENT (MRTD) FOR GHANAIANS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TO ALL GHANAIAN AIRPORTS

Following a “Key Ceremony” at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal, Canada, on 9th February 2022, Ghana’s National Identity Card (the Ghana Card) is now duly recognised globally as a valid ID card passport, a Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD) that can be read and verified by the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) at most airports.

Ghana Airports Company Limited announces to all airports and airlines that, holders of a valid GhanaCard should be allowed to board a flight to Ghana, without the need for a visa.

This takes effect from March 1, 2022.