Ghana Temporarily Pauses Citizenship Applications for People of African Descent
Accra, Ghana — The Government of Ghana has announced a temporary suspension of citizenship applications for people of African descent living abroad, a move aimed at overhauling the application process to make it more accessible, efficient, and user‑friendly. The pause was announced on Sunday by the Ministry of the Interior and the Office of Diaspora Affairs.
Since its introduction in 2016, Ghana’s special citizenship pathway for members of the African diaspora has allowed individuals who can demonstrate ancestral ties to the continent — particularly descendants of Africans displaced by the transatlantic slave trade — to apply for Ghanaian nationality. More than 1,000 people, including global cultural figures such as musician Stevie Wonder, have obtained citizenship through this pathway in recent years.
Officials say the temporary suspension does not cancel the programme outright, but will allow authorities to review and reform elements of the application system that have drawn criticism from applicants and diaspora advocacy groups. Among the most common complaints are the high administrative costs, stringent documentation requirements, and short timeframes for submitting evidence such as DNA results and supporting papers — often seen as impractical for applicants living abroad.
One diaspora advocate, Dr. Erieka Bennet of the Diaspora African Forum, reportedly told the BBC that applicants struggled to meet tight deadlines for DNA submissions and other documentation, with costs that many found prohibitively expensive.
The government has not provided a specific timeline for when the revised process will reopen. However, officials emphasised that the suspension is administrative — not legislative — and aimed at improving the overall experience for applicants rather than ending Ghana’s outreach to its global diaspora.
Ghana has described members of the African diaspora as its “17th region” and has launched initiatives such as the Year of Return and the Beyond the Return campaign to encourage cultural reconnection, investment, and relocation to the country.
Critics of the pause argue that tightening eligibility or documentation requirements could undermine Ghana’s image as a welcoming destination for people of African descent, potentially narrowing access for those who wish to reclaim citizenship based on ancestral ties.
Despite the suspension, other routes to Ghanaian citizenship — including by naturalisation through long‑term residence or by descent through Ghanaian parents — remain unaffected. Authorities say updated guidelines and timelines for resuming diaspora citizenship applications will be announced in due course.
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