Citizenship Opportunities
Ghana‛s Citizenship Invitation Extends “Beyond the Return” By Ashlea Halpern
W
hen Ghana declared 2019 the Year of Return, one of the major goals of the program was to inspire members of the African diaspora—specifically Black Americans descended from victims of the transatlantic slave trade—to embark on a birthright journey to their ancestral homeland. The country granted citizenship to more than 100 interested African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans as part of the initiative. Now Ghana is following up its successful Year of Return with a decade-long project called Beyond the Return, aimed at promoting tourism, bettering economic relations between countries, and carving out a clear pathway to citizenship for people of African descent whose parents or grandparents are
not Ghanaian. This expands upon the country’s pre-existing Right of Abode law passed in 2000, which allows a person of African descent to apply for the right to stay in Ghana indefinitely. Those with a Ghanaian parent can currently apply for dual citizenship by providing proof of the parent’s nationality through a birth certificate or passport, as well as the names and addresses of two relatives residing in Ghana. Review the Dual Citizenship Application a t : w w w. g h a n a c o n s u l a t e n e w y o r k . o r g / dualcitizenship.aspx. www.cntraveler.com/story/countries-where-youcan-get-a-passport-through-ancestry#intcid=_ bert-mab-experiment-control-without-bert_ e19d8392-bf4d-4e22-809f-0b074eadef7a_ popular4-1
20 | ABA Publications | Africa TRAVEL | May 2021
