The United States has lifted its visa restrictions on Ghana following months of negotiations, a move widely seen as a reward for Accra’s agreement to accept West Africans deported under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced the reversal on Friday, calling it ‘good news’ for Ghanaians seeking to travel to the US. The decision was conveyed by American officials on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, he said.
‘Ghanaians can now be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas and other enhanced consular privileges,’ Ablakwa wrote on X, noting that the breakthrough followed ‘months of high-level diplomatic negotiations’.
Mahama confirms deportee arrivals
Earlier this month, President John Mahama revealed that Ghana was receiving West Africans deported by the US, positioning the country as a key transit hub in Trump’s so-called third-country deportation strategy. The policy sends migrants to nations where they have no family ties or legal residency.
Mahama insisted Accra had not been offered any inducement, but acknowledged the agreement was reached as bilateral relations tightened, with Washington imposing tariffs and the now-rescinded visa limits in recent months.
Quiet flights and onward transfers
At least 14 West Africans have arrived in Ghana since early September, according to an AFP tally, though neither government has disclosed details of the arrangement. Lawyers say the deportees had previously won protection from US immigration courts against removal to their countries of origin.
US-based lawyer Meredyth Yoon told AFP that eight to 10 of the deportees were held for weeks in Ghana under military guard before being abruptly transferred to neighbouring Togo last weekend and left to fend for themselves. She added that another plane capable of carrying 14 people has since landed in Accra, though the passenger count remains unclear.
Humanitarian stance, diplomatic gains
Ghana maintains it is hosting the deportees on humanitarian grounds and stresses the arrangement does not signal endorsement of US immigration policy.
The visa restrictions, introduced by Washington in June, had limited most travellers from Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Nigeria to single-entry visas valid for only three months. With Friday’s announcement, Ghanaian citizens regain access to longer-term, multiple-entry visas, restoring a key privilege for business and family travel.
The development underscores the strategic role Ghana now plays in US immigration enforcement and highlights the quiet but consequential diplomacy that reshaped a contentious policy.
