A total of 163,213 non-citizen Ghanaian cards have been issued by the National Identification Authority (NIA) to foreign nationals, according to Interior Minister Ambrose Dery.Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, the Minister revealed that the figure is as of October 2022, since the NIA introduced the Foreign Identification Management Programme in 2012.

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Mr Dery failed to provide a breakdown of which foreign country has issued the most non-citizen Ghana cards; he noted, however, that the individuals are from 203 countries.In September this year, the NIA indicated that it had issued 161,007 cards to citizens of 202 other foreign countries.

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The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, revealed that the majority of the cards, 34,712, were issued to Chinese nationals.Nigerians constituted the second-largest group of foreign citizens with non-citizen Ghana cards with a total of 25,873 cards, while 20,110 bearers were citizens of India.

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Per the figures provided by NIA, the cards issued to Germans constituted 4,329; Lebanese, 4,324, United Kingdom (UK) nationals, 4,133; South Africans, 3,194; Ivorians, 2,150; and Gabonese, 1,958 cards.The difference between the recent figure provided by the Interior Minister and that of the NIA is 2,206.Despite the 2,206  non-citizen Ghana cards issued within a month, China remains the foreign country with the most issued cards.

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The second and third positions occupied by Nigeria and India also remain intact, as the difference of 2,206 would cause no change.However, applying the difference to the cards issued to Germans, Lebanese, UK nationals, South Africans, Ivorians, and Gabonese could alter the ranking.Meanwhile, Mr Ambrose Dery has revealed that 1,958 Ghanaians have renounced their Ghanaian citizenship.

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He noted that some of them are now citizens of Germany and the Netherlands.Again, the Interior Ministry failed to provide the timeline of when the renunciation took place.

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For one to renounce his or her Ghanaian citizenship, he or she must purchase Renunciation Form 13 from Ghana Mission Abroad or from the Ministry of the Interior and write an application letter, applying for renunciation of Ghanaian citizenship, addressed to the Minister for the Interior.The Renunciation Form 13 costs GH₵1,200.00. This means that a total of GH₵2,349,600 has been paid to the Ghana Mission Abroad or the Ministry.

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Also, one is to present a curriculum vitae (CV), two recent passport-sized photographs, a copy of the Ghanaian passport, an assurance letter from the country where the applicant is acquiring new citizenship, and a photocopy of the receipt of payment for the Renunciation Form.It is imperative to note that the applicant will be required to surrender the Ghanaian passport before he or she is handed the certificate.Source: The Independent Ghana

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