Freedom of travel has changed over time. The age of terrorism, foreign policy and the new world order have all dictated immigration regulations. Citizens of developed countries like USA and UK encounter if any very minimal travel restrictions while those of developing countries like Ghana face the most horrendous of restrictions. Could this problem be because of our economic and social structure? Or is it because we are a poor nation? The visa section of the British High Commission (BHC) in Accra is very notorious for refusing visa applicants based on very flimsy excuses Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) cannot explain themselves.

I will make reference to a report in the 20th August 2006 edition of the Ghana web general news in which The Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance Refusals report mentioned Ghana as topping the world in the number of visa refusals to the UK. The report mentioned that 56.9 per cent of all applications were turned down in 2004-05. Most (46000) had also been wrongly refused right to appeal in the last three years whilst Fiona Lindsley (the outgoing independent monitor) was at post. The report also stated that additional fees charged by private sector firms, which processed half of all the 2.5 million visa applications between the period of 2004 and 2005, were illegal. It further went on to say that officials were making travellers from poverty-stricken and unstable states justify their need to travel to Britain beyond the requirements of immigration rules.

This is absolutely true and one wonders whether ECOs are trained to apply rules and regulations when it comes to reviewing applications. One wonders what level of educational achievement is required to qualify for the post of an ECO. This is because numerous refusals made are based on flimsy excuses like; ‘‘one does not intend to pursue the reason for his or her travel, one will recourse to public funds, one does not satisfy that he or she has strong family ties in Ghana,’’ to mention a few. How does the ECO know who will return to Ghana after being issued a visa? Has the BHC any records of applicants ECO cleared to travel and to return? Is recourse to public funds in the UK an easy thing to do? Above all, guidelines given by British council for students applying to study in UK are applied as though they are laws and one wonders if ECOs know what guidelines are. They even refuse the right of appeals to those who have that right. This is a big shame to the UK because this undermines values that the already troubled Home Office is trying to uplift.

If there is no quota on visas, and that refusals are genuine as mentioned by Mr. Gary Nicholls (Press Officer, UK High Commission, Ghana) then this is public relations gone bad because most refusals are not genuine like he claims unless he is trying to tell the world that Fiona Lindsley’s report is misleading and wrong. What has the monitor to gain by giving a wrong report on a service that is functioning well as Mr Nicholls claims. This is easy for all to judge. Anyone reading reasons for visa refusals in Ghana will only marvel. Many of the reasons do not apply to applications that applicants have made. One can meet all the visa requirements stipulated and supply documentary proof yet will still be refused. What is ironic is the fact that preformatted letters on reasons for refusal are issued that do not collaborate the application made.

The volume of work is not an excuse to improperly review applications. It would have been a different issue if the service was free. Unfortunately people are paying expensively for it and so this attitude of ECOs is unacceptable, unprofessional and unethical. Ghanaians deserve a better quality of service. The fact that most Ghanaians do not complain is not a reason to give them a raw deal and to take them for granted.

Can the visa section of the BHC in Accra restore the confidence the Ghanaian public once had in its operations? This remains to be seen but not until this unethical and unscrupulous way of generating revenue, poor quality of service and wrongfully refusing visas comes to an end. Maybe the Foreign and Commonwealth office on UK visas need to keep an eye on Ghana especially as visa fees are being increased from April 1st 2007.

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