Ghana student visa and student residence permit

Ghana does not issue a long-term student visa abroad. Students travel on a study visa issued by a Ghanaian mission and, once in Ghana, obtain a residence permit (student) from the Ghana Immigration Service, which the law requires for the whole length of the course. The application is made by the school: it writes to the Comptroller-General of Immigration on the student's behalf.

Ghana's missions issue study visas for study visits, including practical training at a Ghanaian institution, under their general visa procedure and fee scale.

In addition to the mission's general documents (passport valid six months with two blank pages, application form, photographs, yellow fever certificate, return ticket or flight confirmation and travel insurance), missions ask for a letter from your college administrator or professor explaining the reason for the visit, proof in English that you can finance your stay in Ghana, and a letter of acceptance from the Ghanaian institution where you will study or train. The name and address of that institution serve as your reference in Ghana.

Visa fees, payment methods and processing times are set by the mission where you apply; check its page before you submit.

GIS lists the following for the permit: an application letter from the school to the Comptroller-General, two recent passport photographs, copies of the admission letter and of the school fee receipts, a bond where applicable, a birth certificate, a sworn affidavit and a guarantor's support letter where applicable, a copy of the non-citizen identification card, and the passport itself. The 2022 GIS client service charter adds the completed residence permit application form and shows the fee being paid at the bank inside GIS headquarters or a regional command, after which the applicant receives a retention slip with a date to check on the application.

The charter sets four weeks as the standard processing time. Under L.I. 2512 the permit costs GHS 259 for nationals outside ECOWAS, GHS 194 for ECOWAS nationals and GHS 129 for Ghanaians holding foreign passports.

Keep the permit valid for the whole course and renew it before expiry; GIS charges GHS 300 a month for an expired residence permit for nationals outside ECOWAS. A non-citizen identification card is required for the application. If you leave Ghana temporarily during your studies, the re-entry permit rules for residents apply, and family members who join you need their own dependant permits.