Ghana repatriates 27 Chinese nationals over fake visas

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has prevented 27 Chinese, including females, from entering the country through the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for possessing fake entry visas.

Three of them arrived on an Emirate Airlines flight and were removed immediately, in accordance with the law.

However the remaining 24 who arrived on board Ethiopian Airlines had to be detained at the GIS Headquarters because by the time it was detected that their visas were not genuine, the flight they arrived on had already taken off.

They were repatriated the following day.

Their ages ranged between 20 and 57 years and they claimed their purpose for entering Ghana was to attend business meetings and engage in construction.

Most of them were from the Guangxi Province, while a few others were from Henan, Fujian,, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces.

The GIS had, from January till date, had cause to refuse entry into Ghana of 65 foreigners who happened to be in possession of false visas.

They are made up of 50 Chinese, three Americans, three Turks, two Germans and two Pakistanis.

The rest are one each from Vietnam, Namibia, the Philippines, Nigeria and Yemen.

A statement signed by ACOI Francis Palmdeti, Head of Public Affairs at the GIS said the service had observed an increase in the number of fake visas being presented at the KIA, with most the culprits being Chinese.

That phenomenon, it said could be attributed to the strict visa regime put in place to prevent undesirable elements from entering the country.

“We therefore, wish to advise prospective travellers to directly contact the GIS or Ghana missions abroad for any advice regarding the issuance of visas.

The use of middlemen is a risk which could be very costly, since the GIS would not relent on its duty to repatraite all foreigners who appear at the its borders without meeting the conditions of entry”, the statement said.

Source: Daily Graphic