The overwhelming number of passport applications received by the Ghana Immigration Service has been identified as the cause of delays in processing passports in Ghana. Currently, one thousand passport applications are received every week nationwide and this has rendered the GIS and the passport office incapable of processing applications within the stipulated four-week period.
As a step towards solving the problem, the Director of Immigration, Nana Owusu Nsiah has directed that all passport applications forms received by the service be sent to the Passport office within a day or two of receipt to facilitate their processing.
At a maiden meeting with members of staff at the head office, the first since he assumed office, Nana Nsiah noted that there would be pile-ups if forms received were not forwarded quickly to the Passport office for processing.
“I have given them a register to record the times and dates that forms are received and when they are sent to passport office to enable us check the delays.” Nana Nsiah said the issuance of passports has continually been a source of embarrassment to the Service and there is the need to tackle it to reduce bottlenecks associated with the process.
