Arrival Visa for Chinese: Occupy Ghana welcomes cancellation

Pressure Group, Occupy Ghana (OG), has welcomed the decision by the government to cancel the Emergency Visa or Arrival Visa policy for Chinese nationals as part of the fight against illegal mining.

The policy was introduced by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to cater for visitors/business people who travel at short notice from countries where Ghana has no mission or consulate.

The policy authorises visas to be granted on arrival at the airport or other entry points subject to specific immigration requirements.

However the government believes this policy has been abused, with many Chinese nationals taking advantage to come to Ghana to engage in galamsey.

Accordingly, the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Kofi Dzamesi, said this arrival Visa privilege for Chinese has been cancelled.

“The Chinese nationals come to the country to engage in galamsey, they defecate into our rivers and pollute our river through illegal mining,” Mr. Dzamesi noted.

“But now, the Arrival Visa which the former government granted the Chinese has been cancelled. So if you are a Chinese and come to Ghana without visa, you will go back to your China land,” he added.

He continued, “After all, when we go to China, they don’t give us arrival visa so why should we (country) give them arrival visa? So, that Arrival Visa has been cancelled. Any Chinese who wants to come to Ghana should go to Beijing, Ghana’s Embassy, to apply for visa so that we scrutinise why that person wants to come to Ghana,”

Speaking on this development in an interview on Accra News on Wednesday, October 25, a member of the Occupy Ghana, Kwaku Segbefia, said this decision is apt and will help in the fight against the illicit small-scale mining trade.

“We welcome this decision, we believe it is a step in the right direction. It will go a long way to help in the fight of the galamsey. Most of the foruegn nationals who engage in the galamsey are Chinese nationals and they take advantage of the visa on arrival process to do that.

“If people are taking advantage of the policy to engage in illegal activities in the country, then it must be scrapped and so we agree with the government on that note,” he said.