Good news about visas is always received with joy. A typical Ghanaian doesn’t mind spending his life savings on a vacation due to the prestige attached to traveling abroad. However, the process of obtaining visas puts many off due to the uncertainties associated with the outcome of visa applications.
In 2019, it was all over that Ghana has signed a visa-free agreement with Malta to allow holders of ordinary Ghanaian passports to travel to Malta without a visa. It took me series of posts to explain to people why it can never be as Malta is a member of Schengen and as such the country cannot solely admit other nationals into the Schengen area. The agreement was only between holders of Diplomatic passports.
News on South Africa granting Ghanaians visa-free travel also made waves and it’s still on reputable websites, including that of Ghana’s Parliament, that holders of Ghanaian ordinary passport can travel to South Africa without a visa. South Africa visa-free travel for Ghana remains a promise, a promise that may never be fulfilled.
Now, there’s another news from Parliament, the same parliament that said Ghanaians can go to Dubai without a visa lol. Don’t celebrate yet as the reports on various news platforms are conflicting.
UAE will never grant holders of Ghanaian ordinary passports visa-free travel. The only countries that travel to the United Arab Emirates without a visa are member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC is made up of Arab countries; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. UAE suspended its diplomatic relations with Qatar which took away the visa-free access Qatar enjoyed.
Dubai visa is a great source of revenue for the UAE. The best they can offer us is visa-on-arrival. Even countries like the USA and UK whose passports are considered to be some of the strongest in the world do not enjoy visa-free travel to Dubai. The agreement signed between Ghana and the UAE probably allows only holders of diplomatic and service passports to travel between the two countries without a visa.
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