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Some Ghanaians living in Germany have threatened to demonstrate against Ghana’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Hannah Tetteh, because of the hassle they go through before renewing their passports or acquiring visas to visit home.

A Ghanaian based in Germany who only gave her name as Obaapa told listeners of Adom FM’s Morning Show ‘Dwaso Nsem’ on Friday that Ghanaians have to go through unnecessary hassle to renew passports in the country, a situation she describes as very worrying.

Many Ghanaians, she said, are unable to visit home because of the frustration they have to endure while renewing their passports or acquiring visas.

Describing the Ghana passport renewal or visa acquisition process in Germany as frustrating, she said for the past one year or so, applications for passport renewal have seldom gone smoothly, with delays being the order of the day. The visa acquisition process is even worse, she adds.

“I have been in Germany for the past several years and I decided to travel to Ghana since I always do that but, this time around, it was very frustrating. I went to the embassy to renew my passport and it took them forever to do that.

“I was supposed to come to Ghana on 25th January and they told me that my passport will be ready in 3 days and I paid extra fee for that but after three weeks I had not received my passport and even when I called, they promised that I will receive it but they still failed.

“I bought a ticket to that effect and because of their negligence, I had to go buy another ticket which cost me a lot of money before I was able to travel to Ghana,” she noted.

She said a lot of Ghanaians were losing their jobs because their passports have expired but efforts to renew them have stalled.

She has therefore charged Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Akua Sena Dansua and Foreign Affairs Minister Hanna Tetteh to step in and deal with the issue of passports and visas or face their wrath.

“We need more explanation on this passport and visa issue from Hanna Tetteh and Akua Dansua. They should come out and tell us what really is happening else we won’t hesitate to hit the streets to demand answers,” she warned.

The situation appears to be recurring in many of Ghana's embassies in Europe. Listeners who called into the programme from Germany, UK, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Holland all complained of receiving less than acceptable service from consular officials.