Visa applicants in Kumasi get deal

APPLICANTS for US entry visas in Ashanti can now pay their visa fees at the Harper Road Branch of the Standard Chartered Bank in Kumasi as from the end of this month.

This follows a partnership agreement developed by the US Embassy in Accra with the bank under which applicants now make visa fee payments at two branches of the bank in Accra.

Under the partnership, staff of the bank collect the applications and help applicants book dates for interviews.

The US Embassy has therefore decided to extend the services to Kumasi to cater for prospective travellers in the region.

Ms Kathryn Dee Robinson, outgoing US Ambassador and some officials of the US Embassy on Monday interacted with the management of the bank on the issue in Kumasi.

She said before the scheme takes off, personnel from the embassy would be in Kumasi to educate the public on its operations to make it easier for prospective travellers.

She said the service would be extended to other parts of the country in future.

The out-going ambassador said the decision to make the service available to applicants in Kumasi was based on the need to save them the trouble of going all the way to Accra to pay the visa fees before booking dates for subsequent interviews.

Ms Robinson said the services would facilitate the processing of visa applications for travellers and, especially students wishing to travel to the US for studies.

She said there would be no limit on the number of applicants the bank can serve each day and gave the assurance that those making payments in Kumasi would never be disadvantaged in favour of their counterparts in Accra.

She said the process is sophisticated in terms of Information Technology required to sustain it and that Standard Chartered Bank has been able to develop the software to handle the system. The scheme took 18 months to develop.