Immigration
Immigration Act 2000 with quota-based work permits and ECOWAS free movement
The Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573) governs entry, residence and work. Employers obtain immigrant quotas through the GIPC or the Free Zones Board depending on the investment, and permits are then issued by the Ghana Immigration Service. ECOWAS nationals enter visa-free for 90 days.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Ghana Immigration Service under the Ministry of the Interior; GIPC and Free Zones Board for automatic quota entitlements.
- Deadline — Residence permits are commonly issued for one year and renewable
- Deadline — Application for a residence permit must be made within the validity of the entry visa
- Deadline — ECOWAS nationals may remain 90 days without a permit
Governing law
- Immigration Act 2000Act 573
- Immigration Regulations 2001LI 1691
- Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act 2013 (Act 865) — automatic quotas tied to paid-up capital
- ECOWAS Protocol relating to Free Movement of Persons 1979
In practice
Ghana links work permit entitlement to investment: under the GIPC Act a registered enterprise obtains an automatic expatriate quota graduated by paid-up capital, so the number of foreign staff a company may employ is a function of how much capital it has brought in, and additional positions require separate justification. Free zone enterprises have their own regime through the Free Zones Board. The individual then obtains a work permit from the Immigration Service or the sector ministry, followed by a residence permit. The Act provides for indefinite residence and for the right of abode, the latter available to persons of African descent in the diaspora — a distinctive Ghanaian provision reflecting the state's diaspora policy, extended in practice through the Year of Return programme. Ghana is a party to the ECOWAS protocol and applies the 90-day visa-free entry, and it has enacted a Refugee Law 1992 with a domestic Refugee Board, unlike several states in the region that rely on UNHCR.