The United States has lifted visa restrictions on Ghana following months of tense diplomatic exchanges, Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa confirmed on Friday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Ablakwa described the development as “good news” for Ghanaians, noting that it came after “months of high-level diplomatic negotiations.” He added that Ghanaians would now once again be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas, restoring privileges cut off earlier this year.
The move comes as Ghana has become central to U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy of “third-country” deportations, where migrants are sent to states with which they have little or no ties. In recent weeks, Ghana accepted several West Africans deported by the United States, though Accra has stressed it gained nothing in return for doing so.
President John Mahama acknowledged that the deal was struck at a time when U.S.-Ghana relations were “tightening,” following Washington’s imposition of tariffs and visa restrictions. He insisted Ghana was acting on humanitarian grounds and not endorsing U.S. immigration policies.
According to reports, at least 14 West Africans were deported to Ghana since early September. Lawyers said many had won protection in U.S. immigration courts but were nevertheless placed on planes to Accra. Some were later sent onward to their home countries, while others, according to U.S.-based lawyer Meredyth Yoon, endured weeks of detention in Ghana “under military guard and in poor conditions.”
Yoon added that between eight and ten deportees were abruptly transferred to Togo last weekend and left to survive on their own. “Another plane able to carry 14 people has since arrived in Ghana,” she told AFP, though the number of deportees onboard remains unclear.
Despite criticism, Ghana maintains its acceptance of deportees is a humanitarian gesture. Officials insist the country’s cooperation with Washington is not an endorsement of the U.S. crackdown but an act of responsibility within the West African region.
