Ghanaians in Italy are taking advantage of the X’mas and New holidays to renew their passport.

An average of 60 to 100 applicants are received daily and the Ghana Mission in Rome is having a difficult time coping with demand. Information revealed staffs stay as long as it will take, sometimes late into the evenings, to serve applicants who come for the Ghanaian passport.

Most of the applicants who reside in the north of Italy or hundreds of kilometres from the Embassy in Rome have expressed their appreciation for the work being done by the Mission within the holiday period.

Most Italian factories and establishments where Ghanaians are working are on break during the holiday festivities till Jan 8, 2007. Some of them talked to say it’s difficult obtaining permission from their employers to travel during working days to the Embassy in Rome to process such documents and so the X’mas and New Year occasions presented an opportunity.

The duration of the Ghanaian passport is 10 years and it was estimated over 20,000 Ghanaian passports expired in Italy between July 2005 and September 2006 which according to the law of Ghana has be replaced with a new one in its renewal. The Ghana Embassy in Rome is expected make over €4milion for the Ghana Government by the time it’s through with all expired passport within this period.

The Mission is also processing new passport for Ghanaians who have enough evidence to prove their nationality. Sources say out of the number of applicants who apply for a new passport in a day only a small percentage are unable to provide the requisite documents to prove they are Ghanaians and therefore refused but the source further added they will be given the passport if they are able to substantiate their Ghanaian nationality with the appropriate document. Other documents being processed by the Mission are, translation of marriage, birth, school certificates and authentication of family status needed by applicants either for their family to join them in Italy or for renewal of their staying permit. It was made known during Ghana’s President, J.A. Kufuor’s, visit to Italy some few months ago that Ghana is likely to change its passport to the modern digital one. No time frame has been fixed for this exercise but indications are Ghanaians in possession of the current passport can still use it during the period of issuing the new digital passport unless they want to change it in which case they will have to pay for the cost, estimated to be the same as the current one which is expected to phase out with time.

Meanwhile the Mission in Rome is carrying out renovation works on its building, the Ambassador’s residence and residence of the Head of Chancellery. The first phase of the project on the Embassy building is almost completed and will be ready in March for the celebration of Ghana’s 50 years of Independence.

The Mission’s top three staffs were changed in the latter part of 2006 and whilst many Ghanaians in Italy have welcomed the changes they are also expressing satisfaction with the rate of progress made with regards to documentation and interactions between the Embassy and the Ghanaian communities in Italy.