GUIDES · GHANA
Key Facts
- —The country. Ghana has 30.8 million people; its currency is the cedi (GH¢) and Accra is the capital.
- —Entry. Most foreign passports need an e-visa, an online entry permit; launch reports put the standard fee at US$260.
- —Health. Ghana requires proof of yellow fever vaccination from arriving travellers aged nine months or older.
- —Money. A modest Accra budget runs GH¢3,950 to GH¢6,450 (US$339 to US$554) a month at GH¢11.64 per US$.
- —The catch. A GH¢25,000 (about US$2,150) citizenship fee is under review; no decision has been published.
Moving to Ghana in 2026 means an online e-visa for entry, a permit for anything longer, and a budget built in cedis.
Moving to Ghana in 2026 starts with an online e-visa for most foreign passports and continues, for any stay beyond a short visit, with a residence or work permit from the Ghana Immigration Service, the agency that controls entry and stay. Most newcomers settle in Accra, where a modest local lifestyle costs about GH¢3,950 to GH¢6,450 (US$339 to US$554) a month, and every arriving traveller needs a yellow fever vaccination certificate.
Visas and Residence: Entry First, Permit Second
Ghana launched an online e-visa platform on 25 May 2026 at evisa.immigration.gov.gh, run by the Ghana Immigration Service. Launch announcements put the standard fee for non-African passports at US$260, while African passport holders pay no visa fee.
The portal lists standard processing at 96 hours, with priority and express options at higher fees that its front page does not show. Its guidance says the visa must be used within 90 days and that the length of stay, up to 60 days, is set at the border.
Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay, the portal states. Apply well before you fly, because a refusal late in the process leaves little time to rebook.
An e-visa is permission to enter, not a licence to live or work. Longer stays need a residence permit and employment needs a work permit, and our guide to Ghana residency visas sets out the categories.
The Ghana Immigration Service website was unreachable on Sunday 8 November, and reports of revised permit fees from 2 March 2026 conflict with each other. We therefore publish no permit fee, so confirm the current schedule with the service before you pay an agent.
The Citizenship Fee Review
Ghana has also opened a citizenship route for historic diasporans, the descendants of Africans taken from the continent during the slave trade. Applicants face a fee of GH¢25,000 (about US$2,150), plus an administrative payment of GH¢1,500 (about US$129).
Reports say the application process was paused in early February 2026. Officials later acknowledged that the fee could deter applicants and said any change must follow the proper government process.
We found no published decision to lower, suspend or keep the fee. Treat any agent who offers to fast-track citizenship while the review is open with caution.
This route is separate from ordinary expat life. Most foreigners live in Ghana on permits, and citizenship is not needed to rent a home or open a bank account.
Where to Live: Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi
Accra is the default first base, because the main airport, the embassies, private hospitals and international schools are concentrated there. East Legon, Airport Residential and Cantonments are the gated eastern and central districts where much expat housing sits, and our ranking of the best places to live in Ghana compares them.
Osu and Labone suit people who want restaurants and the beach at Labadi within a short ride. Greater Accra holds 17.7% of Ghana’s 30,832,019 people, the Ghana Statistical Service, the national statistics office, found in the 2021 census.
Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, is Ghana’s second city and the historic centre of the Ashanti people. It has a slower pace than Accra and fewer services aimed at foreigners, and Ashanti holds 17.6% of the population.
Takoradi, in the Western Region, is a port city and the base of Ghana’s offshore oil and gas industry since the Jubilee field was discovered in 2007. We found no reliable current population or rent figures for it, so treat claims that it is far cheaper than Accra as unconfirmed.
What It Costs Each Month
All conversions here use the Bank of Ghana’s mid-rate of GH¢11.64 per US$1 on Friday 6 November 2026, the latest rate the central bank had published. A Ghanaian property portal estimates a modest local lifestyle at GH¢3,950 to GH¢6,450 a month (US$339 to US$554).
The same portal puts a comfortable mid-range life, with a two-bedroom home, a mixed diet and ride-hailing, at GH¢13,400 to GH¢23,000 (US$1,151 to US$1,976). These are one portal’s estimates, not official statistics.
Asking rents for unfurnished two-bedroom homes ranged widely by district in the second quarter of 2026. These are asking prices from one portal, not signed leases.
- Madina and Dome: GH¢1,500 to GH¢3,000 a month (US$129 to US$258)
- Spintex Road: GH¢2,500 to GH¢4,500 a month (US$215 to US$387)
- East Legon: GH¢4,000 to GH¢7,000 a month (US$344 to US$601)
- Airport Residential: GH¢6,000 to GH¢9,000 a month (US$515 to US$773)
Ghana’s Rent Control Department said it would enforce the legal limit of six months’ rent in advance from 1 April 2026, with fines or jail for landlords who break it. Property agents report that many landlords still ask for a year or more upfront, so negotiate before you sign and keep written receipts.
Inflation, the pace of rising prices, was 5.5% in October 2026, the Ghana Statistical Service announced on Wednesday 4 November, up from 5.2% in September. A year earlier it stood at 8.0%, and our cost of living guide for Ghana breaks the budget down line by line.
Banking, Money and the Ghana Card
Foreigners who stay at least 90 days in total can apply for the non-citizen Ghana Card from the National Identification Authority, the agency that issues national ID. The first card costs the cedi equivalent of US$120, according to the authority’s foreigner-registration pages.
Expect banks to ask for the card, a passport and a residence or work permit. Our guide to opening a bank account in Ghana lists the documents and the account types.
Plan for currency risk, because the cedi is not stable against the dollar. The Bank of Ghana reported that the cedi lost 9.5% against the US dollar over the first nine months of 2026.
Health, Safety, Internet and Schools
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists yellow fever vaccination as a requirement for all arriving travellers aged nine months or older, and recommends the vaccine for the same group. It also recommends prescription malaria prevention, and vaccines against hepatitis A, hepatitis B and typhoid for most travellers.
On 16 October 2026 the CDC reported a yellow fever outbreak in Ghana’s Upper West Region and advised vaccination at least 10 days before travel. Most newcomers use private hospitals in Accra, which keeps the insurance decision central.
The US State Department rates Ghana Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, and cites violent crime, especially in cities and after dark. It rates the northern border areas of the Upper East, North East and Upper West regions, and land west of the N12 highway in the Savannah Region, Level 3, “reconsider travel”.
Roads are the larger everyday risk. Ghana’s National Road Safety Authority, the road regulator, counted 2,949 road deaths in 14,743 crashes in 2025, up from 2,494 deaths in 2024.
We could not confirm current fibre speeds or the licensing status of satellite internet in Ghana, so test the connection at any flat before you sign. School fees are set by each international school, and we found no national fee table.
Taxes in Brief
Residents pay income tax on a progressive scale with a top rate of 35%, and a 2026 amendment to the income tax law reportedly changed the bands from 1 September. Check the Ghana Revenue Authority’s current table, because the authority is the tax agency and its table decides your bill.
Whether non-residents pay a flat 25% or the standard scale on salary is described differently across the sources we read. Get written advice from a tax adviser in Ghana before you sign an employment contract.
December: Detty December and the Holidays
The Ghana Tourism Authority, the state tourism body, runs an official campaign called December in GH, which most reports date from Tuesday 1 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Many visitors call it Detty December, a nickname for weeks of concerts, beach nights and family reunions centred on Accra.
Farmers’ Day falls on Friday 4 December and Christmas Day on Friday 25 December. Boxing Day falls on Saturday 26 December, and whether Ghana declares a weekday substitute has not been confirmed, so our Ghana holidays and events guide for December tracks the dates as they firm up.
The organiser of AfroFuture, Accra’s large music and culture festival formerly known as Afrochella, had published no 2026 Accra dates at the time of writing. Treat any date you see on a ticket page as a plan until the organiser confirms it.
Ghana’s Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, is due to present the 2027 budget to Parliament on Thursday 12 November. Newcomers should read it for changes to taxes and levies before they sign a lease or a contract.
What US Readers Should Prepare
Check that your passport is valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay, and apply for the e-visa before you buy non-refundable flights. Book your yellow fever vaccination at least 10 days ahead and carry the certificate, because Ghana asks for proof on arrival.
Ask a travel clinic about malaria tablets and the other recommended vaccines, and buy health insurance that covers hospital care in Ghana. Keep copies of your passport, visa approval and lease on your phone and on paper.
What It Means for US Readers
Ghana is one of the more accessible places in West Africa for Americans to move to, because English is the working language and Accra has the services most newcomers need. It also asks for more paperwork than a holiday trip, and the rules on permits, citizenship and tax are in motion in 2026.
Budget in cedis and convert at the day’s rate, because the currency has weakened this year even as inflation has stayed low. Build in a buffer for rent paid upfront and for the December season, when plans, prices and bookings move fast.
What Is Not Known
The permit fee schedule of the Ghana Immigration Service could not be read, and reports of revised fees conflict, so no permit fee is given. The outcome of the citizenship fee review is also unknown, as is whether the paused process will resume.
Rents and living costs come from one property portal and are asking prices, not official statistics. Current fibre speeds, satellite internet licensing, international school fees and living costs in Takoradi could not be confirmed.
The 2026 income tax bands and the tax treatment of non-residents should be checked against the Ghana Revenue Authority’s own table. Whether a weekday substitute is declared for Boxing Day and the dates of the main December festivals are not yet confirmed.
Related Ghana Guides
Sources: Figures come from the Ghana e-visa portal, the Bank of Ghana daily interbank rates page (read on 8 November 2026), the CDC Ghana travel page, the US State Department travel advisory for Ghana, the Ghana Statistical Service, the National Road Safety Authority, the National Identification Authority and the Ghana Tourism Authority.
More: Ghana news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a visa to move to Ghana?
Most foreign passports need a visa, and Ghana now issues e-visas online at evisa.immigration.gov.gh. Longer stays also need a residence or work permit from the Ghana Immigration Service.
How much does it cost to live in Ghana?
A Ghanaian property portal estimates a modest local lifestyle at GH¢3,950 to GH¢6,450 a month (US$339 to US$554). A comfortable mid-range life runs GH¢13,400 to GH¢23,000 (US$1,151 to US$1,976) at GH¢11.64 per US$.
Do I need a yellow fever vaccination for Ghana?
Yes. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists proof of vaccination as an entry requirement for arriving travellers aged nine months or older. Get the shot at least 10 days before you fly.
Where do most expats live in Ghana?
Most settle in Accra, mainly in East Legon, Airport Residential, Cantonments, Osu and Labone. Kumasi suits people who want a slower pace, with fewer services for foreigners.
What is Detty December?
It is a nickname for Ghana’s party season of concerts, beach events and reunions, centred on Accra. The Ghana Tourism Authority’s official December in GH season is reported to run from 1 December 2026 to 3 January 2027.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error
Expat Guide to Ghana
What The Rio Times publishes for foreigners who live in or move to Ghana.
Start here
- Best Places to Live in Ghana for Expats 2026
- Cost of Living in Ghana 2026 for Foreigners
- Retire in Ghana 2026 — Residency, Costs and Daily Life for Foreign Retirees
- Opening a Bank Account in Ghana as a Foreigner 2026 — Documents and Real Costs
City guides
Coming up in Ghana
Understand Ghana