Accra, Jan 26, GNA - The Australian High Commission is to open a Visa Application Centre (AVAC) in Accra, effective February 8, this year.

Mr Billy Williams, Australian High Commissioner to Ghana who announced this said the Centre which would be located at Labone, would provide a convenient, fast and accessible way for clients to apply for visa to enter Australia and would also meet the needs of the growing numbers of Ghanaians travelling to Australia for work, study, to visit family and for leisure.

Mr Williams, speaking at the Australian Day reception on Wednesday in Accra, noted that under the system, applicants would now submit their applications in person at the AVAC, where they would also provide fingerprints and facial scan, unlike previously where they were required to send their applications directly to the High Commission in Kenya.

He said biometric data was an important tool in identity management globally by helping countries to facilitate the arrival of travellers and to combat crime, adding that Australia now used biometric data collection in fifteen countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

He noted that Australia and Ghana had many shared interests, founded on strong people-to-people links, saying the already strong relationship between the two countries would be further strengthened as a result of the establishment of an in-country visa service.