By Mercy Darko.
Ghana Card will next year be recognized as one of the e-passports worldwide, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has revealed.
He added that it can be read and verified in all ICAO compliant borders in 197 countries and 44,000 Airports in the world.
According to Dr. Bawumia, when this happens, holders of the Ghanacard will be allowed to board any flight to Ghana.
“The good news for diasporan Ghanaians is that when the Ghana Immigration Service is linked to the NIA architecture, diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghanacard should not have to obtain visas to travel to Ghana”, he added while Speaking during a lecture at Ashesi University in the Eastern Region on Ghana’s digitization drive under theme “Transforming an economy through digitalization: The Ghana story”.
The Ghana Card.
The Ghana Card is a national identity card that is issued by the Ghanaian authorities to Ghanaian citizens – both resident and non-resident, and legally and permanently resident foreign nationals. It is proof of identity, citizenship and residence of the holder.
Meanwhile, from Monday, June 28, 2021 all Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributors started replacing their unique scheme identification numbers with the Ghana Card identification numbers.
The process of merging the two identification numbers will continue until December 31, this year.
This means that from January 1, next year, SSNIT contributors will no longer use their scheme numbers but will transact all business with SSNIT with their Ghana Card.
The merger is expected to improve the ease of doing business, as it will create the convenience of using only one card for all transactions.
The merger is in compliance with Regulation 7 (1) of the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012, LI 2111, and a directive from the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).2/11, 20:17]
