I know this is a well-worn topic! Haven't seen a reply that answers our question though.
We're going to Ghana in late October and have our visa forms downloaded...however, there is one documentation requirement that isn't clear:
The embassy website says we must supply "evidence of financial support"
The consulate website says we must supply "evidence of a hotel reservation consisting of a letter from your hotel signed by an authorized person (e-mails not acceptable)" (This is a bit of a problem 'cause we'll travel for a month with few if any advance reservations)
Neither organization answers their phone nor email.
Well, which is it? Has anyone from the USA obtained a Ghana visa very recently, and what did you send?
many thanks!!
rockj
1
markharf
The embassy site I just looked at (http://www.ghanaembassy.org/index.php?page=visas) requires proof of financial viability OR hotel reservation. Send a few bank or credit card statements and you should be good to go.
At least, that's what I did last summer to get my third or fourth Ghana visa. It's not as terrifying as they like to make it sound. On the other hand, I've always found they don't mail my passport back until the last possible minute; if I'm cutting it close I use an expediting service. In fact, those paid services usually have more reliable, more clearly-stated and more consistent information about what's necessary and what's not than the government sites. Plus you can call them on the phone and talk to a real, live person about what's currently being required and how long it will take. Think about that.
Hope that helps.
Mark
2
je55689
i use this visa service and have used them for years you pay a little more but there is some peace of mind here. they have instructions on there site. I got a ghana visa a year ago. I hear it has changed some i just used the the hostal world confirmation of where I was staying. don't remember haveing to show finacial statement I have on other visas just print a copy of an online bank statement then black out account #'s and recopy even twice if you real paranoid like me.
hope this helps
3
rockj
dear mark and g3,
thanks very much for your very useful replies!
Meanwhile, the consulate has actually replied to my e-mail. They say:
"You may wish to confirm the reservation for your first stop and submit a signed confirmation to us."
(i.e. I guess we can book a hotel in Accra...and request a signed confirmation by fax...)
Our other destination countries (Burkina Faso and Mali) look much more straighforward on their websites and visa forms - I'm just hoping we can get all the visas done by our departure date!
happy travels,
rockj (and rocks)
4
rwaff
.......and Ghana bangs on about becoming a major tourist destination. Every country which has a Ghana embassy/high commision seems to gave different rules for visa applications.
5
rockj
so we have our Ghana visas now, very quick turnaround with no problems, and in case it's useful info for others (we live in the USA and applied through the DC embassy), here's what we sent:
- 2 visa forms with pictures attached and our passports, of course!
- on the form we filled in the address of hotel where we had made reservations in Accra. I really doubt they checked, but we did have a legitimate reservation.
- a statement from our checking account, with the account numbers sliced out.
- a photocopy of our airline e-tickets.
- cashiers check for the fee.
voila!
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