Residence and work permits are issued to expatriates employed by companies and churches against immigration quotas. Dependants of expatriate employees are also granted residence permits but not work permits.

No immigrant or visitor is permitted to seek or accept employment for reward unless such employment is within an authorised immigrant quota (i.e. the number of non-ghanaians an enterprise or church may employ in Ghana).

Immigrants intending to work are required to obtain the neccessary permits prior to their arrival in the country. The Ghana Immigration Service will not consider applications for work permits from persons who are in the country as visitors.

Work permits shall not exceed 24 months in duration, will not be transferable and the fees not refundable.

All investment-related quotas, except for the petroleum and mining sectors, are regulated by section 30 of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act, 1994 (Act 478), as follows:

• enterprises with a paid-up capital of between $10,000 and $100,000 (or equivalent in cedis) are entitled to an initial automatic maximum immigrant quota of one person;

• enterprise with paid-up capital of between $100,000 and $500,000 (or equivalent in cedis) are entitled to an initial automatic maximum immigrant quota of two persons;

• enterprise with paid-up capital of $500,000 or more (or its equivalent in cedis) are entitled to an initial automatic maximum immigrant quota of four persons.

Except as provided for above, all applications for immigrant quota with respect to investment in other than the petroleum and mining sectors should be submitted to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and dealt with by the Immigration Service in consultation with GIPC. Immigrant quotas for petroleum and mining enterprises, as well as churches, are granted by the Minister for Interior in consultation with the relevant government institutions.