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A total of 369 foreigners who breached Ghana’s immigration laws were sent back to their countries in 2016.

The figure is made up of 209 foreign nationals who were refused entry into Ghana and 160 persons of various nationalities who were removed from Ghana for failing to comply with immigration and other related laws.

Statistics compiled by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) revealed that out of the 160 people removed from Ghana, 103 were repatriated whilst 57 were deported.

Reasons for refusal of entry

Reasons for refusal of entry includes the traveller failing to provide clear information on where the he/she is going, misbehaviour towards immigration officer, not having sufficient funds, information provided at entry point contradicting information provided on application form submitted to the embassy to get the visa, and possessing fake visa.

It is explained that visa offers partial clearance, and that immigration officers have the discretion to grant or deny travellers entry.

120 foreigners arrested

According to the GIS, as of the end of December 2016, the Immigration Service, through its intelligence-led operations, arrested 120 persons of varying nationalities for breaching immigration and other related laws.

It noted that this figure represents a reduction of 58.57% over the previous year’s figure of 289 persons arrested.

According to GIS, the reduction is as a result of intense monitoring and enforcement of immigration laws, as well as compliance with immigration laws and regulations.

209 Foreigners refused entry

On the other hand, the statistics indicate that 209 foreign nationals were refused entry into Ghana for also failing to meet entry conditions.

However, foreigners who were not admitted into Ghana went up marginally by 1.5% as against 2015 figure of 206, the data suggests.

62 Stowaways arrested

A total of 62 people who hid aboard ships (stowaways) in order to obtain free passage into various destination countries abroad were also intercepted and handed over to the police for further action.
The GIS data noted that out of 62 cases recorded, nine were Nigerians and 53 were Ghanaians.

The service said this indicates a reduction of 17.33% over the figure recorded in 2015, which stood at 75, and attributed the reduction to the effective information campaigns.