How to Renew or Get a Ghana Passport Abroad (USA, UK, Canada, Europe): Steps, Ghana Card and Scams to Avoid

Short answer: you apply yourself on the official portal, passport.mfa.gov.gh, pay there by card, then go in person to your Ghana embassy, high commission or the centre it uses for your biometrics (fingerprints and photo). The new passport is printed in Ghana and sent back to you by courier, usually 6 to 8 weeks after your appointment. If this is your first Ghana passport as an adult abroad, you also need a Ghana Card. You do not need an agent, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns that unauthorised agents are illegal and risky.

Step by step

1. Create an account on passport.mfa.gov.gh with an email address and phone number you can check: the portal sends a one-time code to confirm them.
2. Fill in the application: choose renewal, first passport or replacement, and upload a clear digital photo against a plain white background.
3. Pay online by card. Missions do not take cash. The fee depends on the country you apply in, so check the fee page of your own embassy or high commission before you pay. In the United States, the Ghana Embassy in Washington lists $130 for a 32-page booklet; centres run by VFS Global add their own service fee.
4. Book your biometrics appointment at your embassy, high commission, consulate or the VFS Global centre your mission uses, and bring every original document you uploaded.
5. Bring a prepaid, traceable return envelope. Missions now send passports back by courier instead of handing them over at the counter.
6. Wait for your passport. Abroad, expect about 6 to 8 weeks after your biometrics, because passports are printed in Accra. Plan travel with that in mind.

The Ghana Card rule

For first-time adult applicants living abroad, the Ghana Card is now a required document. You can start the registration online with the National Identification Authority (register.nia.gov.gh) and complete your biometrics at a Ghanaian mission. If you are renewing, check your mission's requirements: many ask for your Ghana Card number, and having one makes everything easier.

Documents to have ready

• Your current or expired Ghana passport (for a renewal), or proof of Ghanaian citizenship such as a birth certificate (for a first passport).
• Your Ghana Card, or its number.
• For a first passport: two guarantors aged 18 or over who have known you for at least two years, and a professional witness who lives in your host country (not one of the guarantors). The portal tells you who is needed for your type of application.
• For a child under 18: a parental consent form signed by the parents or legal guardians, and a copy of a parent's Ghana ID.
• For a lost or stolen passport: a police report and an affidavit. Replacement fees are higher than a normal renewal.

Dual citizens: a court ruling (Asare v. Attorney General) means you do not need a dual citizenship certificate if you can prove your Ghanaian citizenship with primary documents. People who were not Ghanaian citizens on 31 December 1996 cannot register dual citizenship and should look at the Right of Abode instead.

Renewing in Ghana instead

If you will be in Ghana, the fee for an ordinary 32-page passport is GH₵350 (down from GH₵500 since 13 November 2025, delivery included), and regular processing is about 15 working days, faster than abroad.

Scams to avoid

• "Fast-track" agents on Facebook, TikTok or WhatsApp who promise a passport in days for extra money. The Ministry warns that unauthorised agents are illegal and risky, and you can do every step yourself.
• Look-alike websites that copy the portal and take a "processing fee". The only official portal is passport.mfa.gov.gh; type it yourself.
• Cash or MoMo payments to a person "at the embassy". Fees are paid online by card, and missions do not take cash.
• Anyone asking for your passport or Ghana Card details to "check your application". Track it on the portal or with your mission directly.

Paid an agent who disappeared? Report the number on TrustCheck so the next person sees it, and read the money scams that target Ghanaians abroad.

Fees and rules change, and each mission sets its own fee in local currency. Check your embassy or high commission's own website before you pay. Last checked: 1 November 2026.