Ghana Immigration Service by law is mandated to manage the forty five approved routes into Ghana to ensure the territorial integrity of the country at the entry points are protected. However, the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) laws contradict the domestic laws of our country, said the Head of Public Affairs of Ghana Immigration Service.
Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta disclosed this in an interview with Noel Nutsugah host of Statecraft on Zylofon 102.1 FM.
“A person going by the ECOWAS laws enters the country with a visa and then want to stay and establish herself or himself, the ECOWAS laws will give clearance for that but also the Ghana immigration laws will need some requirements and that is where the contradiction is but we primarily obey the domestic rules.“
Supt.Michael Amoako-Atta also added that, “Per interpretation of the Ecowas laws you do not need to apply for a visa to come to the country, you just need to walk into the country and you are given about 90 days free stay in any Ecowas member country with a valid traveling document and vaccination card”
However the challenge according to him is that immigrants outstay their permit which in the ECOWAS law is permissible but same has been frowned upon by domestic Ghanaian Immigration laws, adding that such acts are illegal because “legally one will needs a resident and work permit to operate fully in Ghana”
Supt.Michael Amoako- Atta also disclosed that there are officers from the service that are tasked with explicit objective of moving round to investigate and fish out foreigners who are without resident or work permits. He said this has yielded a lot of positive results which has culminated into some foreigners being arrested and repatriated or charged.
“The leaders should be proactive on this subject so that going forward, there will be some clarity in the interoperation and implementation of these caveats in both the ECOWAS laws and the Ghana immigration Laws” he concluded.
