THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Twenty-two Ghanaians have been deported from Germany and the United Kingdom for immigration-related issues such as overstaying their entry permit and illegal stay in both countries.
Seventeen Ghanaians deported from Germany arrived on a chartered flight CT3721 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on 18 September, the Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has disclosed.
The deportees all males aged between 21 to 60 years were escorted by 67 Police officers, including paramedics.
The 17 deportees who had stayed in Germany between three and 10 years arrived with 15 persons using Travel Certificates (TC) issued by the Ghanaian Embassy in Berlin while the two others used their Ghanaian passports.
Ten of the deportees are from Ashanti Region, five from Greater Accra, and one each from Bono and the Northern Regions.
In an interview with one of the deportees, who is a university graduate and has lived in Germany since 2016, he stated that he is not bitter about the deportation.
He explained that although he was given three months visitor’s permit to remain in the country, he stayed beyond that.
According to him, he was disappointed in himself for wasting all these three years and had not done anything meaningful with his life.
In a related development, the Home Office of the United Kingdom (UK) has also deported five Ghanaians who overstayed their entry permits.
The five who also arrived with a chartered flight HFY221 were under police escorts including two paramedics, and one official from the High Commissioner as an observer.
The deportees who are aged between 26 – 60 years were working and schooling and have lived in the UK for between five months and 10 years.
Three arrived with UK Overstay Certificates issued by the British Authorities and two on Ghanaian passports.
Two of the deportees are from the Ashanti region with two others also from the Greater Accra region, while one person is from the Bono region.
They were admitted into the country after going through the necessary arrival procedures including screening to authenticate their nationalities and counselling by a Clinical Psychologist, GIS said.
Present were officials from the Immigration Service and other security agencies including the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) who facilitated the transportation of the deportees to their various destinations.
The GIS Commander at the Airport, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration (ACI) Edith Penelope Arhin, advised prospective travellers to always endeavour to travel with the requisite documents and visas.
He also charged them to ensure they return within the given period to avoid force deportation.
Source: JoyOnline
