The United Kingdom has completed its move from physical visa vignettes to digital immigration status. For Ghanaian applicants the practical consequences are significant, and they fall on the traveller rather than the Home Office: the eVisa only works if your UKVI account is set up and your current passport is linked to it.
What changed, and when
From 25 February 2026, most visa nationals applying for a UK visitor visa began receiving an eVisa only, in place of the vignette sticker. On 1 July 2026 UK Visas and Immigration stopped issuing vignettes to successful new applicants on all routes. The Home Office has said it intends to discontinue physical vignettes entirely by the end of 2026.
The application journey has been shortened to a single visit to the Visa Application Centre, where you enrol biometrics and confirm your identity. You keep your passport at the end of the appointment. The decision is sent by email, and the eVisa is accessed through your UKVI account rather than collected from the centre.
The UKVI account is not optional
Your eVisa is an online record of your permission, linked to your passport through your UKVI account. Since 11 March 2026 Home Office travel documents have been linked to accounts automatically, but the Home Office's guidance is explicit: before you travel, sign in to your UKVI account, view your eVisa and check that your permission and your current passport details are correct.
Carriers verify eVisa status digitally against Home Office records at check-in. If the passport you present at the airport is not the one linked to your account — because you renewed it after the grant, for example — the airline cannot see your permission and may refuse boarding. Updating the passport in the account before travel avoids this.
Where you need to prove your status to a third party, such as an employer, landlord or bank, you generate a share code through the View and Prove service; the third party enters the code online to see your permission.
Where to apply in Ghana
VFS Global has operated the UK visa centres in Ghana since 22 October 2024. There are now three: Accra, on the Mezzanine Floor of the Grand Oyeeman Building, South Liberation Link; Kumasi, opened in June 2025; and Tamale, opened on 7 April 2026 on the second floor of Pension Tower, SSNIT Building. Confirm opening hours and the categories accepted at Kumasi and Tamale on the VFS site before booking.
Processing times and priority services
The published standard service for applications made outside the UK, updated 26 June 2026, is three weeks for Standard Visitor, Student and most work visas, and twelve weeks for partner, parent, child and adult dependent relative settlement applications. Where available, the priority service (£500) aims for a decision within five working days for most routes and thirty working days for family routes; the super priority service (£1,000) aims for the next working day. These are service standards, not guarantees, and applications requiring further checks take longer.
Practical sequence
Apply online, book and attend the single VAC appointment, wait for the emailed decision, create or sign in to the UKVI account, confirm the passport link and the permission, and only then book non-refundable travel. Applicants who reverse the last two steps are the ones who run into trouble at the airport.
Sources
- Home Office written statement HCWS1361, eVisas for visitor visa applicants, 25 February 2026
- GOV.UK — Updates on the move to eVisas (1 July 2026 vignette cessation; 11 March 2026 automatic linking)
- GOV.UK — Online immigration status (eVisa); Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK (updated 26 June 2026); Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application
- GOV.UK — New UK visa application supplier in Ghana from 22 October 2024; British High Commission Accra announcement of the Tamale centre, April 2026
West Side Travel Ltd is a private travel document advisory consultancy and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government department, embassy, consulate or visa-issuing authority. The above is drawn from official published sources and is general information only; requirements change and every application turns on its own facts. Talk to us before you file.