A recent directive requesting foreigners living in Ghana to re-register their sim cards by using only the Ghana Card appears to have generated some controversy. It is apparent that a number of people were unaware that foreigners living in Ghana were entitled to a Ghana card and some of them have been quick to express their surprise through comments on social media.
It is, therefore, important to understand the history of the Ghana Card and who, by law, can carry one.
Ghana officially started issuing what has become known as the Ghana Card in September 2018. Although the process started in 2003 and an enabling law passed in 2006 under the National Identification Authority (NIA) Act (2006), it was not until 2018 that many registrants started receiving their cards.
The Ghana Card is a project by the NIA facilitated by the National Identification System. It is a National Identity Card that allows holders of the card to prove their identity and citizenship. The card is designed to be secure through the biometric identity of the owner and has a multi-purpose function allowing for electronic and physical transactions. It is also to ensure access to safer, easier and faster social services in the country, including but not limited to health, education, communications, insurance and banking.
In view of this, when the directive by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to have all sim cards in Ghana re-registered with only the Ghana card from October 2021 to March 2022 was issued, a number of Ghanaians showed their displeasure, particularly because they have since been unsuccessful in registering for their Ghana card. There have been a number of reports of the challenges many Ghanaians are facing in registering for a Ghana Card, and the July 1, 2022 deadline by the Bank of Ghana for banks to use the Ghana Card as the only form of identification seems to have worsened an already difficult situation for some citizens. Some have even declared February 8, a ‘no calls day’ just to protest the sim card re-registration.
As Ghanaians race against time to meet the deadline for registering their sim cards and to synchronise all their financial transactions with the Ghana Card, concerns have been raised about the pressure at registration centers if foreigners living in Ghana are also mandated to register for the Ghana Card at the same time. Some of them did not even know that by law foreigners in Ghana would be allowed to own a Ghana Card.
The Non-Citizen Ghana Card for Foreigners
But checks by Dubawa at the National Identification Authority shows that the Ghana Card, meant to be the main official identity card in the country, allows foreigners to have a Non-Citizen Ghana Card, facilitated by the Foreigner Identification Registration in Ghana.
As mandated Under the L.I. 2111 (2012), Act 750, all non-citizens or foreigners, who are six years and above and are permanently resident in the country or will be resident in the country for more than 90 days, are entitled to register for the card which is renewable yearly. The only foreigners exempted are diplomats, employees of the UN or its agencies, and the spouses or dependents of such persons as well as refugees who have a valid United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) card.
Even though both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians may have the same identity card, there are two distinct features on the Ghana card and the Non-citizen Ghana card. One of the differences is the country code in the Personal Identification Number (PIN) which is in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) country codes. For example, a Ghana Card for a citizen will show PIN as GHA-000000000-0, whereas a Non-Citizen Ghana Card for a Nigerian resident would show PIN as NRG-000000000-0. Also, the cards for foreigners living in Ghana have “NON-CITIZEN” in bold red inscribed in front of the card.
According to the NIA, the non-citizen Ghana card can be used for “various transactional purposes such as opening and running a bank account, applying for or renewing residence or work permit, registering a car’’ among others. It also enables the government to create a database of all individuals in the country in order to ensure good planning, good governance, e-government services, and the security and the integrity of the country.
It is worth highlighting that foreign visitors entering Ghana cannot register to receive the Ghana Cards but only “a foreign visitor who has resided in Ghana for a cumulative period of 90 days or has a residence permit is eligible and will be required to provide personal details to the National Identification Authority for the issuance of a Non-Citizen GhanaCard at a cost of $120,” the NIA stated as an answer to one of the frequently asked questions about registration for the Ghana Card.
