Italian Embassy in Accra under the spotlight

…allegation of bribery delaying visa applications

Many Ghanaians in Italy are expressing concern about wide allegation of bribery and corruption at the Italian Embassy in Accra which is delaying visa application of their spouse and children to join them in Italy.

No diplomatic official have been mentioned under these allegations but it’s believed they are not oblivious of the malpractices happening on their corridors as security personals and some officers at the Consular Section of the Embassy demand sums of money claiming to help push forward dates for interview of applicants applying for their visa.

One Ghanaian who resides in the north of Italy said after getting all the necessary documents in Italy and posting it to his wife in Ghana to apply for a family reunion visa to join him, his wife rang back that personals at the Embassy in Accra are demanding an amount of €1,000 to assist in bringing forward the date of her interview otherwise she would have to wait till June 2008. Stating his story, another Ghanaian has this to say: “I was personally in Ghana last year March with all the necessary documents which will enable my wife join me in Italy. She managed to get an appointment this year in January and is now being asked to come back January 2008 for further processing of her application, before then she’d been to the Embassy seven times traveling a distance over 3,000 km. Now I don’t know when she is joining me.”

Information gathered also say visa applicants pass the night outside the premises of the Embassy and when the office opens in the morning only some 10 people are attended to for the day leaving a long queue behind. Applicants living outside Accra have to come back another day to see if luck would smile on them. In one sad incident, a couple who lives in Verona, Italy, solicited the help of two family members in Sekondi -a city about 250km from Accra – to assist their two children join them in Italy by taking them to the Italian Embassy in Accra to go through visa application procedures. The family members travelled in the couple’s car which they have in Ghana and arrived early at the Embassy to join a queue to going through formalities to get the visa but they were disappointed when few people were called in for the day and the gates closed infront of them. They decided to travel back home and come back again but the return journey turned sad as all four, including the children, perished in an auto accident. The mother of the children did not recover from the trauma upon hearing the death of her two children, she also died at a later date.

Concern is also being raised against some of Italy’s immigrants’ laws on authentication of documents being described as ridiculous which is keeping many people waiting for other documents they need in Italy. One report say the office for authentication of documents at the Italian Embassy Accra have been closed down for some months now. One aggrieved Ghanaian in the city of Reggio Emilia -in the north of Italy- questioned the Italian law that demands that documents such as marriage, birth or school certificates be authenticated in the country of origin every six if it’s needed for a document in Italy. According to him he has been legally residing in the country for the past 5years and brought his wife and daughter to join him a couple of years ago under the family reunion application process. He indicated the process saw that his marriage certificate went through the mill at various offices in Ghana before being finally authenticated at the Italian Embassy in Accra which allowed his family to join him in Italy. He stated as he put in an application in Italy to apply for the new permit stay (which he qualifies) the Italian authorities are demanding his marriage certificate which has already been authenticated be sent back to their Consulate office in Accra for authentication again. Reason? After 6 months the authenticated certificate is no more valid to process his requested document. He questioned whether he has to re-confirm his marriage every 6 months but the authorities are not having any of these and unless he comes along with the re-authenticated document there’s no way he’s going to have his requested staying permit.

The Council of Ghanaian Nationals Association in Italy (COGNAI) say reports of the malpractices at the Embassy has reached its Secretariat and the Council will conduct a thorough investigation over the allegations before presenting a complain to the appropriate authorities at Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Accra.