Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Proposes New Passport Application Fee: Checkout
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has tabled a proposal in Parliament to review the current passport application fee from GH¢100 to GH¢644.
The ministry’s proposal, which represents an increase of 544%, is currently before Parliament’s legislative subsidiary committee for review.
Sector Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said the development will enable the ministry to avoid incurring losses in printing passport booklets for citizens.
Speaking in Parliament on December 14, 2023, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said: “Ghanaians pay about GH¢100 for a passport, but producing a passport book costs GH¢400, which means for each passport that we acquire from an applicant, the government has to contribute GH¢300 and this is not sustainable.
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“So if you are going to travel or intend to travel and you cannot afford GH¢400, it is a shame because now even the tickets are expensive.” added the minister.
He suggested that this revision is due to the financial limitations of the Ghanaian economy, which forced the ministry to take these measures since the state can no longer continue to subsidize the cost of printing passports.
UPDATE: The actual figures to this story have been updated to reflect the Minister’s statement before the floor of parliament.