Immigration
We advise individuals, employers, businesses and organisations on immigration and related regulatory matters. Our aim is clear and practical guidance for clients working through immigration requirements, particularly where status is tied to employment, investment, business activity or family circumstances.
Employers bringing staff into Ghana, foreign nationals working or investing here, organisations with expatriate staff to keep compliant, and families whose immigration position follows a relationship.
What we do
- Visa applications and advisory: Which visa fits the purpose of the visit, what it allows, and what the application must show.
- Work and residence permits: Applications and renewals for permits, with the supporting documents the authorities expect from employer and employee.
- Immigration compliance: Keeping status, permits and records current, and knowing what must be reported when circumstances change.
- Business and employment-related immigration: Immigration as part of a hire or an investment, planned early enough not to hold up the start date.
- Immigration documentation: The paperwork assembled and checked before filing, which is where most delay is avoided.
- Family-related immigration matters: Status that follows marriage, dependency or a family relationship.
- Immigration regulatory advice: Where immigration requirements meet the rules on employment, investment quotas and company registration.
How a matter usually runs
- The purpose and the person: Why someone is coming or staying, for how long, who the employer or sponsor is, and what status they hold now.
- The route and the requirements: A written note of the route we recommend, what it requires, and how long it usually takes.
- Documents and filing: We assemble and check the supporting documents, then file and follow up with the authorities.
- Renewals and compliance: The dates that must be met to keep status valid, and the filings each renewal calls for.
What to bring
- Passport and current immigration status or permit
- The employment contract or offer letter, where a job is involved
- The employer's registration documents
- Qualifications and references supporting the role
- Marriage or birth certificates, for family-related applications
Common questions
How long does a work permit take?
It varies with the authority's workload and the completeness of the file. We tell you the usual range at the outset and what would make it longer.
Can someone start work while an application is pending?
Not as a rule, and starting early puts both the employee and the employer at risk. Plan the start date around the permit, not the other way round.
Does the employer have obligations too?
Yes. Employers of foreign nationals carry their own registration and record-keeping obligations, and they are the ones usually asked about them.
What happens if a permit has expired?
Tell us as soon as you know. There are usually steps to regularise the position, and they are simpler taken early than after an enforcement encounter.