A post on the microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has revealed the shocking number of Ghanaians seeking to migrate overseas for greener pastures.
According to Derek Nii Laryea, a popular digital entrepreneur, 63,375 residents of Ghana applied for a Canada visa from January to April 2024. The number of applicants for the first quarter of 2024 exceeded the total number of applicants for the year 2023.
In 2023, a total of 62,151 persons applied for a Canada visa, out of which 33,756 were approved.
In his tweet, he wrote, “Canada visa applications in Ghana. 2021: 9,109, 2023: 62,151. Of these, 33,756 were approved, reflecting a substantial rise in interest and acceptance rates. 2024 Jan to April: 63,375.
“The first 4 months surpassed the total number of applications for the entire previous year.
“Approval numbers for January and February were relatively strong, with 6,241 and 5,826 approvals respectively. However, March and April experienced significant drops, with approvals falling to 3,749 in March and further to 3,001 in April. It seems IRCC is tightening the criteria.”
The phenomenon of mass migration is not exclusive to Canada. In an earlier publication on GhanaWeb, the United States (US) Embassy in Ghana revealed that 6,468 Ghanaians secured visas and traveled to study graduate programs at American universities for the 2022-2023 academic year.
According to the embassy, the numbers were unprecedented and represented an over 31 percent increase in Ghanaian students who took graduate programs in the US for the 2021-2022 academic year (4,140).
Ghana’s failing economy, poor living standards, and high unemployment rate have been listed as possible reasons for which Ghanaians, especially the youth, seek to migrate overseas for greener pastures.
Check out the tweet below:
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
