A Ghanaian passport is issued by the Passport Office, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. Applications are made online and completed in person, and the process is a great deal more orderly than its reputation - if you go through the official channel.
The single most useful thing to know is that the queue outside the Passport Office is not the process. It is people who did not apply online.
Before you start
You need a Ghana Card. Since the National Identification Authority became the primary source of identity, the passport application draws on it, and a mismatch between the two is the most common reason an application stalls.
- Ghana Card, valid, with your name spelled the way you want it in the passport — get one first
- Birth certificate, or a certificate of naturalisation or registration — how to get one
- A working phone number and email address you will still have in three months
- Two guarantors, in the categories the form lists — typically professionals or public officers who have known you personally
Fix name discrepancies first
If your birth certificate, your Ghana Card and your school certificates disagree about your name — a missing middle name, a different spelling, a swapped order — sort it out before you apply, not after you are rejected. A statutory declaration is the standard fix. — Changing or correcting your name
The process
- Apply online on the Passport Office portal. Fill in the biodata, upload what is asked for, and pay through the portal or at a designated bank.
- Book an appointment for biometric capture at a passport application centre. There are centres in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale, Ho and Sunyani, and Ghanaian missions abroad handle applications from outside the country.
- Attend in person. Fingerprints and photograph are taken there; do not bring your own photographs.
- Track the application with the reference the portal gives you.
- Collect it, in person, with the receipt and your Ghana Card.
What it costs
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Standard, 32-page booklet | ₵500 |
| Expedited | ₵700 |
Passport fees change, and this figure is the one most likely to be stale
Ghana raised passport fees fivefold in 2022 and revises them periodically. Confirm the current fee on the Passport Office site before you pay, and pay only through the portal or the designated bank. Nobody legitimate asks you to pay them in cash to speed this up.
Renewing
Renewal is the same application, not a shorter one. Apply before you need it: many countries refuse entry on a passport with under six months left, so a passport that expires next March is already a problem for a trip in December.
Bring the old booklet. It is cancelled and usually returned to you, which matters if it holds a valid visa for somewhere else.
A passport for a child
A child’s application is made by a parent or guardian and needs:
- The child’s birth certificate
- Both parents’ Ghana Cards and passports if they hold them
- Parental consent, in the form the office requires
- The child present for biometric capture
Where one parent is absent, unavailable or deceased, expect to prove why with a death certificate, a court order or a statutory declaration. Take that seriously in advance; it is not something to resolve at the counter.
The middleman question
There is a large informal industry around the Passport Office. Some of it is genuine help with a form. Some of it is a person selling you an appointment slot that is free.
The honest test: anything that requires your biometrics requires you. If someone claims they can produce a passport without you attending in person, they are either lying or committing an offence in your name.
If you want real help, a lawyer or a licensed agent gives you someone accountable. — Lawyers and professional services
If you are not Ghanaian
This guide is for Ghanaian citizens. A foreign national resident in Ghana carries their own country’s passport and a Ghanaian residence permit.