Saudi Arabia has not blacklisted Ghana for tourist E-Visa - Foreign Affairs Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed claims circulating on social media that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has blacklisted Ghana from its tourist electronic visa programme,

In a statement issued by the Ministry, it described the reports as false and misleading.

It said Saudi Arabia's tourist e-visa programme is governed solely by the Kingdom's sovereign visa policy and that decisions on which countries qualify for the facility are made exclusively by the Saudi authorities.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia currently extends its tourist e-visa facility to a selected list of Sixty-Six (66) countries. The eligible countries comprise predominantly G20 nations, North American countries, Member States of the European Union, and selected high-income economies in Asia”, it added.

It noted that Ghana's exclusion from the electronic visa programme is not unique. Most African countries are currently not included in the Saudi tourist e-visa system. Presently, only South Africa, Mauritius and Seychelles are among the African countries eligible for the programme. Ghana therefore shares this status with several other African countries, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and Могоссо.

The Ministry further wished to emphasize that decisions regarding Saudi Arabia's immigration, border security and digital visa systems fall within the exclusive sovereign jurisdiction of the

According to the Ministry, Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Consequently, the Government of Ghana cannot unilaterally influence or determine the countries eligible under Saudi Arabia's electronic visa programme.

It said the absence of Ghana from the tourist e-visa list does not mean that Ghanaian nationals are prohibited from travelling to Saudi Arabia or have been blacklisted. Ghanaian citizens continue to have access to the standard visa application process for travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“Accordingly, Ghanaian nationals may obtain the appropriate visa by submitting applications through the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Accra or through an authorized VFS Tasheer Service Centre”, it added.

According to the statement, eligible Ghanaian passport holders who possess a valid and previously used commercial or tourist visa issued by the United States of America, the United Kingdom or a Schengen State are, subject to the prevailing regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, eligible to bypass standard routing and apply directly for a Saudi visa on arrival or an electronic-visa provided they travel via a Saudi National Carrier (i.e. Saudia or Flynas).

“The Ministry wished to reassure the public that the established channels for Ghanaians travelling to Saudi Arabia for tourism, business, family visits, or Umrah remain fully operational through the regular consular visa application process”, it stated.

The Ministry urged all prospective travellers to obtain visa information only from official sources and to disregard inaccurate information circulating on social media or other unofficial media platforms purporting that, "Saudi Arabia blacklists Ghana for E-visa."