Government reviews GH¢25,000 citizenship fee after diaspora concerns
The government is reviewing the GH¢25,000 fee for acquiring Ghanaian citizenship following concerns from members of the diaspora that the cost could discourage people from formalising their ties with the country. Director of the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President, Kofi Okyere Darko, said the matter had already been raised with the Minister for the Interior and would be considered through the appropriate process. He said government did not want the cost of citizenship to become a barrier for members of the diaspora seeking to establish formal ties with Ghana. “We didn’t want to relegate or shelve citizenship because of that amount, but quite a number of the people in the diaspora family are not happy with it. So I’ve spoken with the Minister in charge of Interior for us to look at that amount again,” he said. The issue was raised during a diaspora engagement meeting in Accra, where participants discussed citizenship, investment and efforts to deepen Ghana’s relationship with its historic diaspora.