40% of Ghanaians who apply for UK Visas are refused - Owusu-Ankomah

Forty per cent (40%) of Ghanaians who apply for visas to the United Kingdom (UK) are refused, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Papa Owusu Anokmah, has disclosed.

He said, as it stands, four out of every ten Ghanaians who apply for a United Kingdom Visa from Accra are refused.

This, he attributed to so many reasons, including the reluctance of some Ghanaians who travel to the UK to return. Mr. Owusu Ankomah said others also overstay their visits – an act which the UK Embassy in Ghana has taken cognizance of.

Speaking in an interview with Accra-based JOY FM, he said the Ghana High Commission in London attempted to intervene to get this 40 percent visa refusal rate reversed but it didn’t work because most applicants falsify their documents.

"The refusal rate in Ghana is quite significant. We are told that their average refusal rate is 14% worldwide [but] that of Ghana is 40%. So out of every 10 Ghanaians who apply for a visa in Accra, on the average four will be refused,” Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK said.

"The reasons they gave range from forgery of documents, lack of adequate information, access to accommodation available when they come, sometimes lack of evidence of sufficient funds to look after one’s self.” He also pointed to the inconsistencies in information such as the amount an applicant earns, spends and saves, not tallying, as another reason why most Ghanaians are refused UK visas.