Every UK, Schengen, United States or Canada application begins with a valid Ghanaian passport, and the rules around that passport changed materially in the last ten months. Much of the advice still circulating online quotes the old fees and the old centres. This note sets out the current position as published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The chip-embedded passport
Nationwide rollout of Ghana's chip-embedded passport began on 28 April 2025. The booklet carries an electronic chip and more than one hundred security features, replacing the previous 32-feature biometric design. Existing biometric passports remain valid until they expire, but the chip-embedded booklet is the ICAO-compliant standard going forward, with the older design due to fall out of compliance by 2030.
Fees since 13 November 2025
Following an amendment to the Fees and Charges Act, the standard 32-page passport fee was reduced by 30 per cent, from GH₵500 to GH₵350, with effect from 13 November 2025. At the same time the Ministry introduced a 24-hour expedited service at GH₵2,000. The Ministry states that regular applications are processed in under fifteen days, and an electronic tracking system lets applicants follow each application from approval through printing to delivery.
One caution: the online portal's fee page has not been fully updated for every booklet type, so quote only the two published figures above — GH₵350 for the standard booklet and GH₵2,000 for the 24-hour service — and confirm the price for a 48-page booklet on the portal before paying.
Delivery and centres
Passports are now couriered to the applicant's doorstep anywhere in Ghana at no additional cost, and the Passport Head Office operates a 24-hour service with a hotline on 0302 754 200. Applications are made online only, at passport.mfa.gov.gh, with payment through the listed bank and Ghana.Gov channels.
The Premium Passport Application Centres in Accra and Kumasi closed on 20 February 2026. Applicants with pending applications at those centres were redirected to the Regional Passport Application Centres, which now handle all in-person enrolment.
Why this matters for your visa
Embassies measure passport validity from the intended date of travel, not from the date of application, and most require at least three to six months of validity beyond the trip. More importantly, a multi-year visa can never outlast the passport it is placed in: a five-year Schengen multiple-entry visa or a ten-year UK visit visa will be cut back to the passport's expiry date. If your passport expires within the next twelve to eighteen months, renewing it before you apply is almost always the right sequence.
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana — Ghana's chip-embedded passport rollout begins (April 2025)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana — Minister outlines significant achievements in passport reforms (November 2025)
- Graphic Online — New GH₵350 passport fee takes effect Thursday, November 13
- GBC Ghana Online — Foreign Affairs Ministry closes premium passport centres in Accra, Kumasi (February 2026)
West Side Travel Ltd is a private travel document advisory consultancy and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government department, embassy, consulate or visa-issuing authority. The above is drawn from official published sources and is general information only; requirements change and every application turns on its own facts. Talk to us before you file.