Ghana Visas, Taxes and Money for Digital Nomads

• ECOWAS citizens can enter without a visa and stay for up to 90 days.
• Other African passport holders: since 25 May 2026, tourist and business visas are free. You still apply online and get approval before you travel. A few African countries already had visa-free arrangements with Ghana.
• Everyone else, including UK, US, EU, Canadian and Australian citizens, needs a visa before travel. Apply through the Ghana eVisa portal, which offers standard, priority and express processing, or through a Ghanaian embassy or high commission. Fees vary by nationality, entry type and speed.

Your passport needs at least six months’ validity on arrival, and everyone must show a yellow fever vaccination certificate. The length of stay is set by the immigration officer at the border, typically 30 to 60 days. Keep the stamp: your extension starts from it.

GIS can extend a visitor’s permit for three to six months at a time. Apply in person at GIS headquarters in Accra, ideally a week or two before your permit runs out. You’ll usually need:

• the extension form and an application letter
• two passport photos
• your passport and a copy of an onward or return ticket
• a support letter from a local host or institution, where relevant
• a non-citizen Ghana Card, if you already have one

Under the GIS fee schedule in force since May 2025, an extension costs GH¢65 per month for most nationalities (GH¢39 for ECOWAS citizens). Visitor’s permits don’t allow employment in Ghana.

Overstaying is penalised at GH¢300 per month for most nationalities and can cause problems when you leave or return, so extend in good time.

Ghana’s immigration rules say employment isn’t permitted on a visitor’s permit, but they don’t specifically address working remotely for a foreign employer or foreign clients. In practice, nomads in Ghana do this quietly and it’s rarely an issue, but it’s a grey area rather than a permitted activity. If you want to work for a Ghanaian company or set up a local business, you need a work and residence permit.

• Right of Abode: permanent residence for people of African descent in the diaspora and for former Ghanaians who gave up citizenship. Holders can live in Ghana, enter without a visa and work without a permit. It’s granted by the Interior Minister with presidential approval, and the GIS requirements are demanding for diaspora applicants: attestations from two Ghanaians, a police report, a medical report and evidence of contribution to Ghana’s economy. The fee is GH¢3,879 for foreign nationals.
• Work and residence permit: sponsored by a Ghanaian employer. The company also needs an immigrant quota, and the permit fee for most nationalities is $1,293.
• Investor and shareholder permits: foreigners who invest through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) can get immigrant quota and residence permits for themselves and staff.
• Student residence permit: for full-time students at a Ghanaian institution.
• Dependant residence permit: for spouses and children of permit holders or Ghanaians. Spouses of Ghanaians can later apply for indefinite residence.

Ghana has no dedicated retirement visa.

Foreigners who live in Ghana or stay 90 days or more in a calendar year must register with the National Identification Authority for a non-citizen Ghana Card. The fee is charged in US dollars. GIS asks for the card when issuing extensions and residence permits, and banks increasingly want it too, so long-stayers should apply once they pass three months.

Ghana taxes residents on worldwide income. You’re tax resident if you’re in Ghana for 183 days or more in any 12-month period.

• Residents pay graduated rates from 0% to 35%, with credit for foreign tax paid on the same income.
• Non-residents pay a flat 25% on Ghanaian-source income only.
• Employment income earned while physically outside Ghana for more than 183 days can be exempt.

There’s no special regime for remote workers, and how the Ghana Revenue Authority treats foreign-paid nomads who stay past 183 days hasn’t been tested much in practice. If you stay most of a year, take advice from a Ghanaian tax adviser and check the rules in your home country. This is a general guide, not tax advice. See our digital nomad taxes guide for the wider picture.

Ghana’s currency is the cedi (GHS), divided into 100 pesewas. The cedi has moved a lot against the dollar in recent years, so check the rate before you agree a lease. Landlords of expat flats often quote rents in dollars, but day-to-day prices are in cedis. Declare cash over $10,000 on arrival.

ATMs from banks such as GCB, Ecobank, Stanbic and Absa accept foreign cards, with low withdrawal limits and fees. Cards work in malls, hotels and larger restaurants, but cash and mobile money run everything else.

Mobile money (MoMo) is how Ghana pays: market stalls, taxis, landlords and friends all take it. MTN MoMo is the biggest, and Telecel Cash and AT Money are the alternatives. Registering a wallet needs ID, and agents increasingly ask for a Ghana Card. Several international transfer services can send money straight to Ghanaian mobile wallets.

Opening a bank account as a foreigner usually needs a passport, a residence or long-stay permit, proof of address and, increasingly, a Ghana Card. Most short-stay nomads manage with a foreign card, MoMo and occasional ATM withdrawals.