February 3, 2026 | SUNTV Global News
The Government of Ghana has announced a temporary suspension of its citizenship-by-descent programme for people of African heritage, citing the need to overhaul a process that has drawn widespread criticism for being expensive, cumbersome and difficult to navigate.
The initiative, launched in 2016, was designed to allow individuals of African descent—particularly descendants of Africans displaced during the transatlantic slave trade—to reclaim Ghanaian citizenship by proving ancestral ties to the continent.
It later became a major pillar of Ghana’s global diaspora engagement strategy and gained international prominence during the country’s 2019 “Year of Return”, which commemorated 400 years since the first recorded arrival of enslaved Africans in the Americas. The campaign attracted thousands of visitors from the United States, the Caribbean and Europe, positioning Ghana as a symbolic homeland for the African diaspora.
Since the programme’s inception, over 1,000 people have reportedly acquired Ghanaian citizenship through the scheme, including world-renowned African American musician Stevie Wonder.
However, behind its powerful symbolism, the application process has faced growing backlash from prospective applicants.
Many applicants have complained of rigid documentation requirements, extremely short submission deadlines and high financial costs that make the process inaccessible to most members of the diaspora.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr. Erieka Bennet, Ambassador of the Diaspora African Forum, said the system effectively excludes many qualified applicants. She described the requirement to submit DNA evidence within just one week of initiating an application as “impossible” for most people.
According to her, DNA testing alone often takes weeks, while international shipping, verification delays and concerns over the interpretation of DNA results further complicate the process.
Dr. Bennet also criticised the one-week deadline for submitting additional supporting documents, noting that applicants living outside Africa face significant logistical challenges.
Cost has emerged as another major barrier. Applicants are required to pay an initial application fee of $136 (£100), while those shortlisted must pay an additional $2,280 (£1,700)—an amount critics argue places the programme beyond the reach of ordinary members of the African diaspora.
Successful applicants are subjected to a vetting process, required to attend a one-day citizenship orientation, and eventually granted Ghanaian nationality at an official ceremony presided over by President John Mahama.
Announcing the suspension, Ghanaian authorities said the move is intended to allow for a comprehensive review of the framework guiding diaspora citizenship applications.
Officials stated that the goal is to redesign the programme to make it more transparent, affordable and user-friendly before reopening it to applicants.
No official timeline has been provided for when the revised process will resume.
