Afia Ohemeng
The Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service, received 17 Ghanaian deportees from Germany on board a chartered flight. All deportees are men, with ages ranging from 21-60 years. These men were escorted by an entourage which included paramedics and 67 police officers.
An official statement released states why the men were deported. According to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), they were deported for immigration-related issues such as overstaying their entry permit into the country. 15 out of the 17 deportees had stayed in German between three and 10 years and had arrived on Travel Certificates issued by the Ghana Embassy in Berlin, Germany. The other two arrived on Ghanaian passports.
The statement also gave the origins of the deportees. Ten of the deportees are from Ashanti Region, five from Greater Accra, one from the Bono Region and the other from the Northern Regions.
Barbara Sam, the Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (KIA) said one of the deportees a University graduate who has lived in Germany since 2016, expressed to her that, “he is not bitter about the deportation because he was given three months visitors permit to remain in the country but rather stayed beyond that.” According to him, he feels disappointed in himself for wasting all the three years he spent there since he did not accomplish anything meaningful.
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The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) also deported five Ghanaians for over staying their entry permit.
The five also arrived with a chartered flight and were escorted by 63 British officials which included two paramedics and an observer from the High Commission.
The deportees are aged between 26 – 60 years. Some were working and schooling and had lived in the UK for between five months and 10 years. Three of them arrived with UK Overstay Certificates issued by the British Authorities and two on Ghanaian passports.
In all, a total of 22 deportees have been received by the KIA Regional Command from UK and Germany.
The Commander of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration, (ACI) Edith Penelope Arhin, advised, those interested in travelling to always try as much as possible to travel with the appropriate documents and visas. He also advised travelers to always ensure that they return within the given period to avoid the embarrassment of forced deportation.
